Satsu: The Vampire Slayer
by Lostaholic516
Summary: Satsu finds herself out of one closet and into another, finding herself in need of harboring a secret...one that she isn't sure anyone could understand. Ratings may change as the story progress. Plz R&R. I appreciate it.
1. Chapter One: Today's the Day?

**Chapter One: Today's the Day?**

_Satsu is the name. Wanna know what that means? It means "murder". That's right. I'm murder…_

"Satsu!" Satsu's father's voice was low but somehow it echoed throughout the house. Satsu rolled her eyes upstairs and turned her music a bit louder to drown out the growl that was her father's voice. "Get down here!" He yelled in Japanese. Satsu sighed, and stood up. She knew what was coming.

"Yes, Father?" Satsu replied as she walked down the stairs as quietly as she could. She kept her distance from him, of course, and she made herself take up the least amount of room possible. She had her head slightly bowed as she looked at her feet. Her jet-black bangs swayed back and forth in front of her.

"Tell me what you told her mother today." He commanded. He did that a lot. She could feel his piercing eyes glare at her. He was a tall man, her father, with a muscular frame and wide shoulders. In his younger days, he had been a great warrior, holding prestige among the people of his village. But they were in America now, and the times had changed. He was always angry and bitter. He no longer held respect and he had back during his "glory days", and he was especially angry when _she _didn't give him the respect he believed he deserved from her.

"I—I told her a lot of things today…sir." She replied. Lying wasn't one of her fortes. She was trying to avoid looking at him as much as possible, which she imagined served her father just fine.

"Don't you be smart with me, kid." Her father's voice was low, but the fiery rage was behind so much of it that every word he spat out felt like burning coal against Satsu's rather delicate skin.

"I—I told her—that—" it was hard getting the words out. What was he expecting? How was she supposed to say this?

"That what?" he demanded and he took a step closer to her. Satsu took a step back and hit her back against the wall behind her.

"That I—don't like—boys." Satsu finally mustered up. She could feel her heart beating in her chest, the world around her spinning, and her father raising his large hand.

"Why don't you like boys?" he asked rather slowly. Any moment now, that hand was going to come down and smack her against her face. It was an awkward question, really, if her father had thought about it.

"I like girls." Satsu said simple, fast, and decisive. She looked up at him, into his eyes. Defiance was written all over her face and she even smiled a little after she had said it. It was out. In the open. She had said it to her father, the person she feared most would know about her secret. Was it a secret? A million thoughts were going through her mind at a million miles per second but everything was wiped clean when she felt his rough hand come down on her face. She was lifted off her feet and her shoulders slammed against the hardwood floor of her house. She was confused, dazed, and disoriented for several seconds before she realized what had happened. Her face felt like it had been smacked with a sledgehammer. Maybe worse.

"What did you say?" Her father asked again. Tears were rolling down Satsu's cheeks as she used every last ounce of strength left in her body to stand up.

"I'm gay." Satsu said again, coucourage from somewhere, somehow, rushing into her. "That's what I said." She could feel strength swelling inside of her. She ld feel power pulsing in her blood. She couldn't feel the pain in her face any longer. His hand came down again but somehow she caught it. Her hands held tightly onto his wrist. She couldn't even wrap her whole hand around it, but somehow, she was stronger than him. "It's who I am. Take it or leave it." Her father was staring at her in complete shock. But that was only for a split second. Next she knew, his face was back to it stern and hateful expression.

"You get the hell out of my house." He said. He said that. Get the hell out of his house. As if she intended to stay after that confrontation.

"You got it, boss." Satsu let go of his wrist and opened the door of _his_ house, not even intending to grab her clothes.

"I don't want to ever see your face again." He said like a child. Satsu nodded, still pumped with adrenaline. She turned to leave. Then her father' voice came again. "You're the death of me, child." It was an almost inaudible whisper but she had caught it.

_Well what do you expect? You did name me "murder". Kind of expected, don't you think?_

One would expect school to be the last place Satsu would go to after she had been beaten and disowned by her father. But that was exactly where she went. After she left her house, she jumped on the bus and made her way to school. Zack and Julia, her two best friends, were sitting at their usual spot, under a large jasmine tree. Zack was sitting with his back against the tree and Julia was staring to some far off location.

"Hey, guys." She said, smiling. Even though she was homeless, Satsu hadn't been ever happier than she was as she stood in front of her two friends.

"Hey—what the hell?" Zack stood up from where he sat. "What the hell happened?" Julia was up now too, looking concerned.

"What?" she asked, looking from Zack to Julia and then back to Zack. "What's wrong? I have something on my face?"

"You cannot tell me you didn't notice there's a big ass bruise on your face. What'd you get hit with? A sledge hammer?" Zack got closer and touched her face. She didn't even feel the bruise.

"Is it really that bad?" she asked and Julia nodded.

"Hey, how about we go to the restroom. I might have something that could cover that up—or something." Julia said, indicating the restroom not far from where they were. Satsu nodded and she held Zack's hand, lowering it from her face.

"I'm fine, Zack. I don't even feel it." Zack nodded and Satsu and Julia made their way to the restroom.

"So what really happened?" Julia asked as she handed Satsu her makeup bag.

"I—I came out today." She said. Only Zack knew that Satsu was a lesbian. Well, him and her parents. Julia, on the other hand, had no idea.

"Came out—what?" Julia asked, looking at Satsu through the mirror.

"Of…the metaphorical closet?" Satsu replied, praying to God, or some such nonsense, that Julia wouldn't freak out. Julia was of a more conservative crowd, but she was loyal and had always been an amazing friend to Satsu. So despite their opposing beliefs, Satsu still loved her.

"Oh." Julia said. There was a moment of silence between the two of them and then Julia shook her head. "You know," she started and then stopped.

"What?" Satsu asked, trying her best not to sound nervous.

"You don't have a thing for me or anything—"

"_**No**_," Satsu replied, annoyed. These stupid, ignorant…

"Okay because this stupid idiot kept saying that and I mean I totally knew you didn't but—"

"Wait what?"

"Oh, honey, I know you're gay." Julia smiled. "I've always known. I've just been waiting for you to tell me."

"You did?" Satsu asked, surprised. She wasn't sure if she should be relieved or offended.

"Oh, of course. I mean your taste in men, sweetheart…atrocious." Julia joked.

"I'm that obvious, huh?" Satsu said, a frown on her face.

"Well—lying isn't really one of your strong suites. You know that right?" Satsu laughed and nodded her head. "And that's actually a good thing...if I recall correctly."

"Hey, I think my face is…_**healing**_." Both Satsu and Julia stared in amazement as her extraordinarily large bruise healed in front of their very eyes.

"What—was that?"

"Maybe it comes with being out of the closet?" Satsu joked.

"That was—definitely weird." Julia remarked, but she shook her head. "Whatever." She said putting her makeup bag back into her backpack. "Zack's prolly pissed we left him for so long. Let's go." Julia always had a knack for ignoring the weird. So Julia wasn't a conservative. Guess everybody had secrets.

Zack was reading a book when they had come back out, and he immediately rushed up to them. He examined Satsu's face and then looked at her, studying her face with much interest.

"What happened?" Zack asked. "Your bruise…"

"Good makeup, I guess." Satsu looked over at Julia who looked back at her with a shrug.

"I have don't cheap stuff on me, Zachary. You should know that." She gave him and wink and he shook his head. Then he directed his attention back to Satsu.

"How'd you get the shiner to begin with, anyways?"

"I told my father—"

"_**Oh**_," there was a short pause. Then with an outburst, "That son of a bitch!" he yelled.

"He _**is**_ my father, Zack."

"I don't give a—" he took in a deep breath and for a split second there, Satsu was almost sure his eyes had gone completely black. Like pitch black…even the whites. But it was so quick that she couldn't be sure. "We got to get to class, Jules. I want to talk to you later, okay Satsu?" Satsu nodded and the two of them left her. She stood, looking at the backs of her two friends. Zack was hiding something.

_I didn't feel it until after I had gone through the first half of the school day. It went by rather uneventful, much unlike the earlier part of the day. By lunchtime, I could feel it growing stronger and stronger. And that was when it hit me…_

"Hey, Satsu." Zack was walking towards her alone. Julia must have had a theater meeting.

"Zack," she replied. She was standing by her locker, having just gotten her books.

"I need to tell you something." He said but before he could continue, she was falling…falling…falling. Everything suddenly seemed to rush at her all at once. She was a different girl…and then she was a different girl again…and then again…and again…and again…

"Satsu!" when she came to, Satsu was crying, tears rolling down her cheeks uncontrollably. She was on the ground, leaning against the lockers. "Hey, you okay? What's wrong?" Zack was standing over her with a hand on her shoulder. She could barely feel his touch.

"I'm fine…" Satsu finally said after a long pause. After another minute or so of crying, Satsu stood up. The power and strength that had run through her veins at her father's house was back. "I'm…more than fine." She clenched and unclenched her fists. "I feel…strong. You know? Like I'm invincible."

"Invincible." Zack laughed. "Look…I gotta talk to you about something."

"Yeah?" Satsu asked, looking around at the school. Everything felt smaller, slower, and more accessible…

"Your dad," he said rather cautiously. "You don't intend on coming back—you know—home do you?" Satsu was seventeen years old, and her birthday wasn't until another eight months. Technically…she _**had**_ to go home.

"He told me I was the death of him." Satsu sighed, sitting down on a vacant bench. "As if my sexual orientation was something I could control…as if…"

"I'm sorry." Zack said holding her hand. "He's an ignorant idiot." He was looking deep into her eyes, as if he could see her very soul. "Come live with me." He said with a matter-of-fact tone.

"Zack," Satsu said shaking her head. "I can't—"

"At least for a couple of nights. You can't sleep on the streets. And Julia's parents are no way in hell going to let you sleep over at their house. C'mon."

"Your parents won't mind?" Satsu finally asked, giving in.

"Nah," Zack replied, taking a bite of his sandwich. "They're chill."

_So as much as I didn't want to bother Zack with my housing situation, he was kind enough to offer me his family's guest room. I had known Zack's parents for a long time, and they knew how close we were. His parents had told me they'd hope he and I would date and I told them that he was more of a brother to me, which he truly is. They told me that kids often thought that way…_


	2. Chapter Two: The Slayer

**Chapter Two: The Slayer**

_So the days passed by and became weeks, and soon enough, I found myself not really wanting to leave Zack's house. Things had started to settle. Kind of like when you break an arm and you begin to get use to using only one. Something like that…_

Satsu's head was full of thoughts and images…images of girls from her vision. Who were they? Why were they in her head? And the almost unbelievable strength she had acquired. What was that about? Satsu closed her eyes and felt herself sink into sleep. The visions came back, now more vivid than before. Although she couldn't see most of their faces, she could see one. The girl was more beautiful than anything Satsu had seen in her life. She had gorgeous, long blonde hair, a short, cute nose that wrinkled every time she smiled, and tight, kissable lips. In her hand was a strange red axe-like weapon with what appeared to be a stake at the end of it. There were people around her, but they were all hazy.

Satsu woke up and groaned. She couldn't seem to get the image of the mesmerizing blonde girl out of her head. Yawning, she turned to look at the alarm clock. 2:04 AM. She had only been asleep for less than thirty-minutes. She felt as if she had slept for a full night. Confused, she sat up and turned on the television. There were a few stupid specials on things she really couldn't have cared less about, but she found herself stopping on a commercial. There was a half-decent looking redhead with a pearl necklace and a purple top on. She broke a vase.

"Oh! I broke another one!" she yelled. She was a terrible actress, and Satsu would have flipped the channel if something inside of her hadn't told her that she needed to see it.

"Something wrong honey?" asked a feminine looking Caucasian man.

"I can't control my strength! And I'm having dreams that are strange and disturb me."

"Dreams of being another girl in another time?" the gay man asked, raising his eyebrow. Dreams of being another girl…in another time. Satsu almost jumped out of her bed when she heard this. She couldn't even focus on the commercial after that. She flicked off the television. Closing her eyes, she imagined the beautiful blonde girl again. Was this happening to other people too? She jumped out of her bed when she heard knocking on her door a few seconds later.

"Hey," Zack said. "Didn't mean to startle you there." Zack was leaning against the door and looking at her with an amused curiosity.

"No, no. I'm just—come on in." Zack walked in slowly, looking at the pile of clothes on the floor. His sister had been kind enough to lend her some, though they were a bit big and out of fashion.

"I was just going to check up on you. See what you were up to." Satsu looked over at the alarm clock. It was 2:20 in the morning. Zack laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. He sat down at the bottom of her bed and she joined him.

"So what's really up, Zack?" Satsu asked him.

"Nothing, nothing. Just thinking—"

"About Jules?" Satsu teased.

"Shut up." Zack replied. He's had had a crush on the girl for over two years now, but she's always had a boyfriend. And to be honest…he wasn't really her type. "I was just thinking—" He continued, glaring at her. "You want to go do something? I mean—not right now obviously. But just—I don't know. You're cooped up in the house all day. It'd do you some good if you'd go out once in a while, you know? How about it? Me, you, and Jules. We'll do something fun." He was being rather long winded just to ask her to go hang out, she thought.

"Yeah, sure. Sounds great."

_So that was that, an awkward conversation about going the hang out. The three of us hadn't hung outside of school for some time. Julia was always busy with her boyfriend and Zack didn't go out much. I, on the other hand, and plenty of good reasons for not hanging out with them, one of which is a crazy dad that beat the crap out of me when I told him I wasn't into boys._

The three of them finished a movie and then were off to wander the rather deserted streets. It was a cold night, made especially chilling when they passed by the town's cemetery. Satsu looked over at the fields of tombstones as the fog lay lazily on top of them. Zack was walking silently beside her with his hands in his pockets and Julia was walking a few paces ahead. Then it happened. At first, Satsu thought she had imagined it. But then it came again.

"You guys hear that?" Satsu asked, making a full stop now.

"Probably just some grave digger. C'mon, Sat. We shouldn't get mixed up in that kind of thing." Zack grabbed her hand and he pulled her forward.

"No its—something's telling me—"

"That it's no grave digger?" Julia asked. She was standing in front of Satsu now, facing the cemetery.

"Yeah—"

"You two follow my lead. Okay? Stay on alert. And—watch your necks." Julia turned and gave Satsu and Zack and serious glare. It was as if she was trying to tell them to take that literally.

"Jules," Zack grabbed her arm. "Are you crazy?" She shook him off with ease and made her way into the cemetery. Making a noise, Zack followed her and Satsu behind him. If the cemetery wasn't dark and scary earlier, it definitely was now. Satsu looked around at the endless sea of tombstones and then she saw him…it? Something, someone was crawling out of the dirt. It got out, and turned to look at them. The thing looked like a regular person at first…up until it saw them. When it did, its face crunched up and fangs came out. What the hell?

"Oh, shit!" Zack yelled, pulling Julia back and leaping forward. He threw a punch at the thing and it took a few steps back. The next punch he threw, however, the thing caught his arm and twisted it around his back. Satsu was sure she heard a crack. Then, with such ease that it was unnatural, the thing picked Zack up off his feet and threw him at the nearby tombstone. Zack didn't move from his spot.

"Stay back, Satsu!" Julia commanded. Who did she think she is? Julia ran forward, did some sort of flip _**over**_ the thing's head and landed perfectly behind him, delivering a kick to his back that sent him flying.

"What the—?" Satsu stared at Julia in utter amazement. She was in some sort of fighting stance. Satsu had never known her to—when did she learn martial arts?

"You stupid, little girl!" The thing stood up, pulled a tombstone from its grave, and just as Julia was about to punch it, it slammed the tombstone on her head, breaking the tombstone into bits and knocking her unconscious in the process. Satsu was sure that the tombstone should've smashed Julia's skull it not break. Throwing the pieces of rubble aside, the thing climbed on top of Julia and it smiled. It muttered something like "player" and pulled the hair that covered her neck away. It licked her neck before sinking its teeth into her and Satsu could hear it drinking her blood. What the hell was going on? She was paralyzed in utter fear.

Satsu's knees gave way and she fell onto the ground, breathing and panting. She tried to stand up again, determined to help her friend…but she couldn't. Her legs were shaking uncontrollably and she felt her whole body go rigid and numb in utter, uncompromising terror. Just when she thought that it had drained enough blood to kill Julia, something, a dog maybe or a vicious looking monkey—she couldn't tell—came rushing out of nowhere. It slammed its mighty jaw shut against the thing's neck and dragged the thing off into the dense fog. After several minutes of just staring dumbstruck at Julia, Satsu managed to stand up and walked cautiously and slowly towards her. Julia was laying facing up with her eyes closed. She was moaning in pain. Satsu knelt down beside her and looked at her neck. In the dark she couldn't tell, but it seemed that the bleeding had stopped.

"Julia. Hey," Satsu said, her voice shaking. "Are you okay?" She was holding onto Julia's hand tightly.

"I—I'll be—fine."

"I'm going to get you out of here." Satsu said. At first she didn't know if she could do it. She was almost certain that she wouldn't have been able to do it a mere month ago. But she picked Julia up with ease and carried her out of the cemetery. Satsu laid her on the curb and under the lamplight, examined her neck again. The wound had closed. It was as if it were never there except the blood that covered her neck and clothes. Satsu wiped away the blood to make sure the wound had gone. It was. Next thing she knew, Julia was sitting upright. Her face was pale, but she seemed to have recovered.

"I couldn't take out _**one**_ stupid Vamp." Julia said, angrily. "One. Bergs would've been _**really**_ proud…goddamit!" She punched the ground cracking the cement floor.

"I—I froze. I—I didn't do anything. I let you and—Zack! We got to go back and get Zack!" Satsu stood up and was about to enter the cemetery when she remembered. That thing was still in there…with that dog/monkey. She'd be ripped to shreds.

"Give me a few minutes and I'll go." Satsu was about to agree to that but she remembered what she was about to say to Julia. That she was so scared she couldn't move and she let her two best friends almost get killed. That should she herself couldn't do anything. Not even run.

"I'll be quick." Satsu said. She was about to go in when she saw Zack walking towards her through the fog. "Zack! You okay?" Zack was walking with a limp and there seemed to have been more damage to him than she had initially thought.

"I will be. Where's Jules?" Zack's legs gave out and he was about to fall but Satsu caught him and helped him to the curb where Julia was. "Oh, thank God." Zack said when he saw Julia. Satsu helped him sit down next to her and Zack threw his arms around Julia, sobbing.

"Hey, I'm fine, Zack." She patted him on the back.

"I thought I lost you." His whole body was shaking as he cried, clinging on to her tightly.

"I never knew you were such a cry baby." She teased. Zack's muffled laugh could be heard through his tears and Julia's shoulder.

"I love you." Satsu heard him say. "I love you so much, Julia." Julia looked up at Satsu and Satsu knew that Julia knew what he meant. Not friend love. Love, love.

"I love you too, Zack. Now stop crying. You're making my shirt wet." _**That**_ was meant as friend love.

"Sorry," Zack laughed, wiping his tears. Pulling away, Satsu could see the damage that was done to Zack's face clearly. There were deep cuts and bruises on him. Satsu almost winced at the pain he must have been under.

"Come join us, Sat." Julia said with a smile. Satsu smiled back and sat down with them. After a few minutes of silence, it seemed that the three of them had began remembering again the events that had just transpired.

"So are you going to explain to me what happened, Julia?" Satsu asked, looking at her friend with a new eye.

"What makes you think I know what we just dealt with?" Julia asked, but Satsu could tell there wasn't much conviction behind her words.

"Well for one, you called it a 'Vamp'. Two, you seemed to know pretty damn well what you were doing out there. You're strength is—almost inhuman, Jules."

"Okay," Julia said after a long pause. Zack was staring intently at her as she combed back her hair and took in a deep breath. "Okay—that in there. That was a vampire. A God to honest truth vampire."

"Like—one that's scared of sunlight and…drinks your blood kind of vampire?" Satsu asked.

"Well—I'm living proof of that latter half of what you just said." Julia joked, but Zack just nodded his head.

"There are a lot of them. And other monster's too. Demons, werewolves, vengeance demons—a whole lot of them." Zack's face seemed to twitch at the mention of the vast amounts of monsters there were. Satsu herself was feeling a chill run down her spine.

"And so comes the hero. Or well…heroine."

"What do you mean?" Satsu asked.

"A Slayer. The Slayer. One is chosen for every generation. She fights the forces of evil. She's bestowed with the power to defend the world."

"You—" Zack said suddenly. "You're _**the**_ Slayer?" Julia nodded her head with a smile.

"You've heard of me?"

"Ah, hell."


	3. Chapter Three: Buffy and Faith

**Chapter Three: A Girl Named Buffy and a Girl Named Faith**

_The three of us sat there, under the cloudy skies of the pitch-black night. It was a night I wasn't soon going to forget. Vampires, Slayer, dog-monkey thingies…no I wasn't going to forget that night any time soon. Zack was standing up, pacing back and forth. Something about Julia being "The Slayer" seemed to have bothered him. A great deal in fact. I just sat there, dumbstruck. For one, Julia was The Slayer…whatever that meant. And second of all…what about me?_

Julia shifted uncomfortably where she sat. She had regained color and look about ready for another go at the vampire…or at least ready for the vampire to snack on her again. Satsu wasn't really sure which.

"So I'm guessing you know what a Slayer is, huh?" Julia finally asked, breaking the long silence after Zack's outburst almost ten minutes ago now. Zack took in a deep breath and then nodded.

"Yeah, I know what a Slayer is."

"You have something against them? Me?" Julia asked, looking at Zack critically. Zack shook his head slowly and then laughed.

"No—definitely don't have anything against Slayers." Satsu didn't get it at first until Julia started laughing. Slayers. That was Zack's favorite band. The three of them laughed for a good long while, not being able to stop. It was probably the most awkward moment Satsu had ever had with the two of them.

"Seriously, Zack. How do you know about Slayers?" Zack looked up at the sky and then down at Julia again.

"I've been taught to run the other way if I ever saw one." Zack said ambiguously. Julia narrowed her eyes.

"What? Why?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Zack said. "I'm not going to run the other way though, Jules." Zack reassured her. Julia was going to press further but Satsu interrupted instead, knowing that Zack would only close down even more if Julia had pressed on.

"Julia," Satsu said. "Did you—I mean—how do you know so much about being a Slayer."

"Well—I had a Watcher. Kind of like a counselor. A mentor. He taught me what Slayers are, what vampires are—he taught me martial arts. His name was Bergs. He was our librarian." Satsu and Zack's eyes were wide open.

"Are you serious? Mr. Bergs?"

"Yep," Julia sighed. "He was killed."

"Yeah we know." Satsu said. "He didn't get mugged—did he?" Julia shook her head.

"Muggers would've gotten their asses kicked by him. No—he was murdered—protecting _**me**_."

"What happened?"

"There were these—groups of—people. They called themselves the Bringers. They came and were going to kill me but Bergs risked his life to save me. I was supposed to go to Sunnydale after that but…I just couldn't find the strength to leave my family behind."

"What's in Sunnydale?"

"What _**was**_ in Sunnydale. The place blew up a few weeks ago. The Slayer was in Sunnydale. Or well…it was the _**current**_ Slayer in the line. I guess she died and passed her powers on to me." Julia pushed herself up. "Now I'm the Chosen One."

"I got a confession to make—" Satsu began. "I—"

"Guys!" Zack yelled. He was on the floor grabbing his chest.

"Zack? Zack what's wrong?" Satsu was about to grab him but he looked up, his eyes blacker than night.

"Get away from me. Julia, grab Satsu and run! RUN!" Zack was beginning to change into something…an animal…

"Let's go, Satsu." Julia grabbed her arm and the two began to run.

"What the hell! Are none of us normal?" Satsu yelled as she ran with all her might.

"I guess not." Julia yelled. "My car! Get to my car!" Her car was over a mile from the cemetery, which would've normally been a horribly run for Satsu, but this time she didn't even need to catch her breath when they reached the car. Julia popped the trunk open and clicked a button to the right. The bottom of the trunk flipped up to reveal…and armory…

"What the—" Satsu stared amazement. There were all sorts of weapons ranging from knives to swords to crossbows. Julia grabbed a katana and tied it around her back.

"My favorite weapon. Bergs gave it to me." Julia rummaged through her trunk and then loaded what appeared to be a dart gun.

"You're going to tranq him?"

"Yeah," Julia replied. "You're going to stay behind me. Got it?"

"You have another one of those?" Satsu asked, indicating the gun. Julia shook her head. She grabbed two wakizashis and handed them to Satsu.

"You know how to handle these?" Satsu nodded her head. She had watched her dad use them when she was younger, secretly learning. Of course—she wasn't any good at it. She tied them both on her waists, each on either side of her, their sheaths crossing each other behind her. She drew them, holding them like how her father used to hold them, with the bladed pointed downward as if she were about to stab someone with their twenty-inch blades.

"Yeah, I know how to handle these." Satsu finally said, sheathing them.

"Good. But you stay back, okay? Don't do anything unless I can't." It was strange, seeing Julia like this. They had been friends with each other since their freshman year, and yet she's never known this side of her—this huge side that was hidden in the dark. Satsu laughed and shook her head. It wasn't like she was completely honest about her true self until recently.

"Hey, Julia." Satsu said as they proceeded slowly.

"Yeah?"

"After all this—you know—hunting down weird monkey-dog Zack…"

"Werewolf. He's a werewolf, Satsu."

"Werewolf? Really?" Satsu shook her head. "Right—well I need to tell you something. After all this…okay?"

"That you're into me? I totally knew it. I know I look hot with this gun and all—" Satsu laughed nervously.

"I'm serious, Julia. I got something to tell you."

"Alright," Julia replied as they arrived at the spot where Zack had transformed. Werewolves. They're real? Zack's one? All this was turning out to be too fantastical for even Satsu's wildest dreams and nightmares.

"I think we lost—" Satsu began but then she saw him. The werewolf was rushing at them in full throttle and Satsu drew her two swords, each hand grabbing their respective handles. Julia was shooting the darts at Zack, but he seemed to be acquainted with the process. He dodged one dart after the other, eventually getting up to Julia and tackling her. Julia wrestled with him on the ground before managing to overpower him and got on top. She drew her katana and was about to plunge it into Zack's heart but he flipped her over and she hit the ground. He grabbed her and threw her against a nearby tree, breaking it half. She bounced off, landing hard against the cement floor. Satsu ran with all her strength at Zack and just before he swung his large, clawed arm, Satsu jumped as high as she could, her blades pointed down at him as she fell. The blades stabbed deep into his shoulder blades and the wolf roared in agony. Pushing with her feet against his chest, Satsu managed to pull the swords out and back flipped off of him, landing on the ground in a stance she remembered her father always being in. Bleeding and in obvious pain, he was about to rush at Satsu, but before he could, she heard three shots and then Zack was on the ground. Satsu looked over slowly at Julia who still had the gun pointed at the unconscious werewolf.

"We definitely need to talk."

_After that we brought Zack back to his house. Julia and I stayed in his room, just sitting in comfortable silence. I fell asleep and when I woke up Zack was back to his human form and clothed and Julia was sleeping on his bed. He was sitting on the floor with he back leaned against the bed and his head hung between his knees. He looked up at me when I stirred and he gave me a weak smile. I weak-smiled back at him._

"Julia got tired." He said in a whisper. The morning sunlight was hitting his face and he seemed to glow in it. "It's only seven." He said, his voice softer still.

"Oh," Satsu said, finding her voice louder than she had expected. "We should get some breakfast." Satsu said, her voice an inaudible whisper now.

"Yeah, after Jules wakes up." Every time he said her name, there was a softness to it that would've gone unnoticed by anyone else. But Satsu heard it every time.

"Yeah," Satsu said empty-minded. She looked over at Julia who was sound asleep. They sat there in silence until Julia woke up almost an hour later. The rest of it was a blur to Satsu. There was some getting ready, washing, brushing and before she knew it they were sitting at a diner. Zack sat next to Julia upon Satsu's insistence that she wanted the space to herself.

"So the three of us got a lot to talk about, huh?" Zack asked with a smile. Julia made a noise and gave him what appeared to be a smile. Her black hair seemed a bit frizzy that morning.

"So I'm the Slayer, you're a werewolf, and you're an—exceptionally strong lesbian." Julia said with a grin. "We make the best group of friends."

"I'm a Slayer." Satsu blurted. There was silence for a while then Julia blinked at her.

"What?"

"I know you said there's only one Slayer in all the world. But—I've been having dreams. You know? Dreams of—being—" Satsu laughed remembering the short, spiky-haired man from the commercial with his stupid grin. "…of being another girl…in another life." Julia looked speechless. She opened her mouth a few times to talk but nothing came out. "And I've been…getting powers. You saw me when I fought Zack. I feel _**strong**_, Jules. Really, really strong. Like there's pure energy running through my veins. Like—"

"Like you're invincible." Julia finished her sentence for her. Satsu nodded.

"But—you said there's only one Slayer."

"Actually Bergs told me there were two Slayers. A girl named Buffy and a girl named Faith."

"You said there was only one Slayer." Satsu repeated. Julia shook her head.

"What I meant was that there was only one Slayer that's in the Slayer _**line. **_There_** was**_ only one. Buffy was the Slayer before Faith. Bergs told me she died. And a potential Slayer's powers were awoken. But—Buffy came back to life. And he told me that they co-existed—for the first time in the Slayer history—there were two Slayers."

"This is starting to sound like one of them sci-fi series." Zack joked. Satsu and Julia didn't pay attention to his retort.

"Bergs told me that Buffy kind of—existed outside of the rule. If she died there would go back to being only one Slayer. But if the other girl died—then the Slayer powers would be passed down again keeping the new two Slayer rule. And she did die. It was passed down to Faith."

"This Faith girl—she doesn't happen to be blonde—is she?"

"No," Julia said. And then with a shrug. "I don't know." Satsu shook her head.

"Sorry."

"Well—that's all I know. Faith and Buffy were the first two to co-exist. But Faith was the one who carried on the line. I assumed I got the powers because Faith had died. And Bergs told me nothing would happen if Buffy died. So I don't know—I don't know why you have the powers too." Then they were quiet again, deep in thought. After some time, Julia spoke again. "You know—I didn't expect there to be another Slayer around here. I mean even as a potential. I thought they were more spread out around the world. You know?"

"Well, I _**was**_ born in Japan, you know."

"Right, makes sense." Julia said. The commercial came to Satsu's mind again. But she had turned it off before the gay man in the plaid sweater had said anything useful. "You're turn, Zack." Julia said, turning their attention onto him. He was eating heartily and stopped mid-bite.

"Err—what?"

"Your secret. What the hell, Zack? Dangerous! You should've told us!"

"Look—I grew up with a family of weres. They weren't especially the kindest people. We'd turn and hunt during the full moon. They didn't care. But I did. So I tried and I tried and I've developed a way to contain it…as much as possible. But if I even let a peep of it out—like I did to save you guys at the cemetery…its almost impossible to contain it again." Zack placed down his toast. "I thought it was a curse. A family disease. But I've found that it can be useful. And how the hell was I going to tell my two best friends that I sometimes turn into a hairy beast that eats people. I mean—really? If you couldn't tell me you were gay up until the eleventh grade—"

"Right, right." Satsu nodded and Julia shrugged.

"Well now that everything's out in the open—" Julia stated.

"What now?" Satsu asked and the three of them sat staring at the plates of food on their table.

"Now—we do what Slayers do. Well, Slayers and a werewolf." Julia said.

"Yeah? What's that?" Zack asked.

"We take down evil sons of bitches. We're going to be heroes."


	4. Chapter Four: Under the Lamp Light

**Chapter Four: Under the Lamp Light**

_**Two Years Ago:**_

There were four of them circling around her, their faces chiseled perfection. The young girl standing before them was only half their size. On her back was a sword that was too long for her and in her hands, an all too heavy crossbow.

"Concentrate, Julia." Said a man that looked in his mid-twenties. He was sitting with his legs crossed. "You have the advantage." One of the overly handsome fellow lurched forward, his arms in front of him, ready to grab her. Julia took a dive, rolled clear out of his way, and shot her arrow. It sailed across the air and bounced off the man.

"Good! Good! You're aiming is getting quite brilliant." The man, Bergs, said. The man that was hit walked off the field. "Now, what are you going to do about the other three?" She quickly scanned the men around her. Man A was in front of her, Man B to her left and Man C behind her. Julia saw a punch coming from the corner of her eye from B. She threw her cross bow at him and kick at the man in front of her. She gripped the hilt of her sword and drew it, slashing it down at C's neck. The wooden blade smacked hard against the man and he let out a yell.

"What the bloody hell?"

"Suck it up and get off the field, Sterns." The Englishman with crossed legs said. C walked off the field still muttering and cursing under his breath. "Two more!" They resumed their positions. B threw her crossbow to the side and rushed at her. Man A rushed at her also. Julia waited for just the right time before stepping back quickly. The two clashed into each other and with one fell swoop of her sword, Julia demonstrated to the two men she could have taken off both their heads. Bergs clapped his hands after he wrote down a few pointers in his notebook.

"How was I, Bergs?" The young girl of sixteen asked. She sheathed her sword and smiled wide at him.

"You were bloody brilliant is what you were." The man said. "The counsel will be very pleased, I'm sure." Bergs said looking over at the four men. They nodded their heads unwillingly and each shook Julia's hand before the left in their black car. Smooth.

"So, we doing anything else today?" Julia asked, her hands crossed behind her back. She had always had a crush on her mentor.

"I, have a present for you, love." Bergs said. Much like his student, he too had a sword tied around his back. In fact, she had gotten the idea from him. "I want you to have this." He handed her the sword.

"Really?" Julia said, wide-eyed. "Where'd you get it?"

"A store." Bergs smiled. "It's my favorite sword out of the collection I have. I want you to have it. I think you're ready to be a real slayer, Julia…when the time comes." Julia smiled wide and threw her arms around her best friend.

_**Present Time:**_

_I hated violence when I was younger. I really did. It was always so bloody, primal, and vicious and…so much like my father. But as I grew older I felt myself being drawn to it. Like it was a calling. I guess it was a calling, as my occupation now is "Slayer". I mean really, could there be a more violent occupational name then SLAYER?_

Three weeks had passed since their talk at the diner. Things were going back to their normal routine. School was a drag as it always was. Satsu's mother had called Zack's mom and some sort of negotiation had taken place. Next thing Satsu knew, Zack's mother was carrying Satsu's belongings into Zack's guest room in the form of small boxes.

"See if anything's missing, sweetheart." Zack's mother said. Her English name was Lilly. "If there is, just tell me and I'll go back and grab it for you, okay?" Satsu was speechless, staring at the boxes that were now sitting in the room. "This is your home now." Satsu blinked at Lilly, confused and a little too happy to fully comprehend it.

"T-thanks." Was all that Satsu could muster. Lilly smiled kindly at her and left the room. Satsu rummaged through the boxes that Lilly had carried up. There wasn't much that Satsu had missed from her house. But everything she could think of was there.

"Hey, there, Sis." Zack joked, knocking on her door.

"Hey! What happened?" Satsu asked. "When'd this all—?"

"My mom and your mom had a talk. You're my new little sister now."

"I think I should be the older one. I mean I'm definitely more mature than you are."

"I think you're a load of crap." Zack joked, sitting on her bed. "We're going to be late for school if you don't go get ready soon." School. The agonizing routine of school was worse than slaying vampires, which she was getting quite good at. Zack and Satsu walked through the front gates of the school almost fifteen minutes early. Julia was no where to be found, so the two of them decided to just sit down and wait for her. Satsu examined the students around her, all busy with teenage lives...with things like love and homework. None of them knew…none of them could even begin to—

"Hi," came a girl's voice, breaking Satsu's train of thought. Satsu looked up at the girl that had said it. She had never seen the girl before, though admittedly she wouldn't have mind seeing her again. The girl was skinny, with blonde hair that was shoulder length. She had on a bright smile and with books pressed against her chest. Satsu couldn't help thinking she looked like one of those nerds in the movies that were too gorgeous to be unpopular.

"Uh—hi." Satsu said not knowing what else to say. "Can…I help you?" She looked over at Zack who shrugged.

"I'm in your English class." The girl said. She seemed hurt that Sastu hadn't recognize her. At first Satsu was going to shake her head, telling her she didn't recognize her. Upon seeing the girl's hurt expression, however, Satsu decided to be nice instead.

"Right! Uh—right!"

"Jane," the girl said and Satsu nodded her head.

"Was just going to say that."

"I know you hang out with Julia and…all popular and stuff. Never mind. I'm sorry." Jane turned to leave but Satsu reached out and hand and grabbed her close to her elbows.

"No. Me? Popular? What? Psh." Satsu threw up her hands. "I hang out with this loser for God's sake. Am I right, Zack?" She glared at Zack, telling him to play along or else he'd feel the wrath of her Slayer powers.

"Right!" Zack said, more enthusiastic than necessary. "Satsu being popular is like me being popular. And that's just ridiculous." Zack stopped, looking from side to side. "So…I'm going to go now. I'll go look for Julia. Nice meeting you, Jane." Zack hurriedly scrambled to his feet and took off, leaving Satsu sitting uncomfortably behind.

"C'mon. What'd you want to ask me? Or say. Or whatever."

"You going to the dance?"

"Dance? Homecoming?" Satsu asked. The girl nodded her head. "Um—if I had a reason to." Satsu said, trying her best to conceal a smile that was forcing its way through.

"Oh. Well I—was wondering if you'd, you know, might want to go with me?" Satsu was flattered, she really was. But there were so many things that had popped into her head following Jane's question that she didn't know if she could get them all out before she forgot them.

"Okay, I'm just going to ask a bunch of questions first, so I don't forget, okay?" Jane nodded her head. She seemed nervous. Really nervous. "One, is there a thing like when you come out of the closet and every single gay person like just knows you are or something? I mean am I that obvious? Two, I'm really flattered you ask me. Not a question. I know. But just wanted to get that out there. Three, would they even let you bring a girl? I'm not sure our town is known for being especially liberal. And I forgot the rest…" Satsu realized she was rambling a lot but that was how she was when she got nervous. God, she was blushing…

"You're funny." Was Jane's only reply. Satsu felt her face burn even redder. The more time she was spending talking to this girl…the cuter the girl seemed to have gotten. Sastu shook her head. "Is that a no?" Jane asked.

"Yes! I mean no!" Satsu covered her face. "No, that wasn't a 'no'. Yes, I'll go with you." Satsu clarified. "English class you said? That would be…right now, right?" Jane nodded and Sastu smiled wide. "Great. You can walk me there." Satsu stood up and the two walked side by side, their hands gently touching each other now and again. Was holding hands proper for just agreeing to go on a date? To hell with proper. Satsu grabbed Jane's hand tighter and the two of them walked together to class.

_The rest of the day was pretty normal. Jane and I hung out a bit after class but that was the last I saw of her. I got to say, the girl is my type of girl. Funny and cute and she doesn't seem to even know it. Julia and I met that night for some "one on one" training, as Julia had put it._

"So I heard. About the girl that asked you to the dance." Julia said as she and Satsu were getting ready for training. They were at the park next to Julia's house, which was, as usual, deserted. Satsu found that Julia was exceptionally good looking that night, under the street lamp of the dimly lit park. "By the way, you can keep these." She handed Satsu the two wakizashis which she had used to fight Zack. "You slut! Were you not going to tell me?"

"What?" Satsu laughed. "I don't know! She's…she's cute. _**And**_ surprisingly nerdy. Which I kind of really like about her." Julia gave her a wink.

"You plan on dating her or just going to the dance?"

"I don't know. I don't even know her—"

"Hence dating, sweetheart." Julia replied. She threw Satsu a stake and then stuffed her own into her coat.

"Should _**I **_ask her out on a date? I mean—wouldn't that seem weird? Her having just asked me out to the dance. I mean who's to say I was even her first choice. Or even if she's just asking me because I'm the only other lesbian in this red town." Ranting again. Good job, Satsu.

"I'm sure you're not the only two lesbians there are, Sat. Hey, so—little protégé—what do you want to learn toda?." Julia asked. She was in a full uniform, with blue armored chest and shoulder pieces.

"You know, you and I have had these powers the same amount of time." Satsu said, offended by Julia's condescension.

"Well I can stand here and tell you how much more training I've had than you," Julia said. "But how about I show you?" She pulled out two wooden swords from her trunk and threw one at Satsu. "Let's go for a test drive." Satsu shrugged and pointed her sword at Julia.

"I might surprise you!" She exclaimed, getting into stance.

"Oh, I hope so, young Padawan." Julia taunted.

"Never knew you were such a geek, Jules." Satsu spat back. Satsu lifted her sword over her had so that she could rush at Julia, but Julia moved in quick, catching Satsu's wrists before she could swing it, and gave her a painful knee to the ribs. Coughing, Satsu fell to the ground.

"Guess we both have surprises, huh?" Julia sneered, whipping her sword down at Satsu and stopping just as it touched her neck. "Wanna try again or are you ready to acknowledge that I'm _**way**_ better than you are?"

"You know, I never knew you to be so damn cocky, Jules." Satsu said and she lowered herself, catching Julia's legs between hers, and twisting her whole body around. Julia fell to the floor and Satsu popped back up, stabbing her sword down. Julia rolled clear out of the way and then backwards and onto her feet.

"That wasn't half bad, Sat." Julia said, slashing the air with her wooden sword. "Ready?"

"Anytime." Satsu said. The powers that were pumping through her seemed to give her a confidence she had never had. It made her feel as if she were worth something and that the way to prove it was to beat Julia. This time Julia attacked. She swung her sword towards the right, as if she was ready to attack Satsu from the side. Satsu got into position to block it but midway Julia changed course, stabbing her sword forward instead. It hit Satsu right below the sternum and Julia quickly moved behind her and lifted her sword to Satsu's throat with her left arm hooking Satsu's left and pressing against her back to push her forward. Julia leaned her head over Satsu's shoulder.

"Give up?" Julia whispered into her ears. Satsu could feel Julia's warm breath against her neck that cold, dark night.

"Oh, you are so hot right now." Satsu laughed. "I think I've had this dream a couple of times."

"Oh really? How many times." Julia teased.

"Not much—a couple of dozen times maybe?" Satsu could feel Julia resting her chin on her shoulder. Satsu turned her head gently, her cheeks touching Julia's warm forehead. God, she was warm.

"So where does it usually go from here?" Julia whispered again. She seemed to be breathing extra hard. So was Satsu.

"Well usually," Satsu said, lifting her hand and lowering Julia's blade. Satsu turned around, their noses were practically touching. "We would kiss about now." She moved her face in just a centimeter closer so that she could feel the warmth emanating from Julia's lips on her's. Julia smiled and pushed Satsu away. The two laughed and as Satsu turned around she saw her. Jane. She was standing a few yards from them. _What the hell was she doing there at this time of night?_ Satsu thought. Satsu's eyes lowered from her face to the groceries that were in Jane's hands. _Who goes to the grocery store at this time of night?_

"I was—I heard…fighting. I thought…someone was in trouble. I should really go." Jane looked a mixture of confused and hurt and she quickly turned to leave. Satsu stood, not knowing what to do. What the _**was**_ she doing with Julia just now? Why did she feel so guilty about it? She and Jane were just going to a stupid dance together and she and Julia were just…

"Go after her, idiot!" Julia said. Satsu stood there for a second before coming to her senses. She ran after Jane. She caught up with her just as Jane was about to cross the street.

"Jane! Satsu yelled. The girl was pretty fast. Jane didn't turn to look at her, but she didn't continue walking either, even after the little white walk sign had appeared. "Hey—we were just messing around back there." Satsu said. Horrible word choice. She shook her head hard. "I mean…it was just a joke." Jane finally slowly turned around. Satsu couldn't determine her expression.

"It doesn't matter. It's not like—we're anything..."

"We could—I mean—" Satsu hadn't ever even told another girl she was pretty let alone asking someone on a date. "There's nothing going on between me and Julia. We were just kidding. You get that right?" Jane nodded. They were getting closer to each other now. _Damn, these stupid lamps make people look so hot. _Satsu thought.

"Yeah," Jane replied.

"Well then—you want to go out with me sometime? Like—a date or something?" Satsu asked. They were getting even closer.

"Definitely." Their faces were in front of each other. _No. Kissing would be weird. It would make more sense to be kissing Julia for God's sake. _Satsu stopped moving in.

"How about we set a time after class tomorrow." Satsu finally said after a moment of awkward silence.

"Yeah, I'll see you." Jane grabbed her bags and began walking. She was almost half a minute away before Satsu realized how late it was.

"Hey!" Satsu yelled. Jane turned back and Satsu ran as fast as she could up to her. "I'll walk you home."


	5. My Name is Valentine

**_A/N: This is the back-story of a character that will be introduced in the main storyline later on. I wanted to do something different, so I decided that a switch in viewpoint and a stand-alone chapter for him would be fun. Drew my inspiration from the tone of the one-shot follow-up to "Tales of the Vampire", "The Thrill". I think that issue was amazing, btw. Oh, and there's some cursing in this chapter. Just wanted to mention it as a precaution. Anyways, hope you all like it. And please R&R!_**

**My Name Is Valentine**

_Darkness. I don't mean to sound "emo" or depressed but man, do I love the dark. Yeah, yeah, you can say "typical old vampire loving the night". But you've got no fucking idea how amazing it is. I stand there in the alley waiting for my helpless preys, and it's almost God damned spiritual. Those stupid girls would tell you I've got no soul. I wouldn't know what a spiritual thing was if it hit me in the face like they want to with their fists. Stupid Slayers got a point, literally sometimes. I __**have**__ no soul. All I feel…is emptiness…and __**that**__ my weak, pathetic, tasty friends, __**is**__ my fulfillment. _

_So I was out that night, stalking the streets as I always did. There were a couple of loud children running around and thinking they were on top of the world. I'd like to bathe in their bloods…but I was stalking for something specific that night. I wanted a __Slayer__. Why you might ask? Why the hell would I want to do something so stupid that it was brilliant? Well about two months ago, I was at a town called Sunnydale to visit my sire. My sire told me, "Valentine, there's a traitor in our midst. His name is Spike. He's been killing his own kind." Who the hell's name is Spike?_

_So I confronted the fellow. Old British vampire with stupid bleached blonde hair. I fought him and got my ass royally kicked. The guy might have looked scrawny, but boy oh boy, he was stronger than any vamp I had ever fought. So I asked the guy, "How the hell are you so strong?"_

_The idiot looks at me and smiles. "I've tasted two Slayers in my time. I'm reformed now, of course. Soul and everything." I took off and ran. Coward? No. Smart? Yes. No one should ever fight a vamp that's tasted Slayer's blood. After I heard him say that I went around asking about it. Sounds like he's the only one that's ever had Slayer for dinner, but there were stories...rumors really...about how it doubles, even triples, one's powers. I mean…I would be one of the strongest vampires in the **world** if I could get my fangs into the Slayer! So I went and did my homework on the Slayer. Buffy-fucking-Summers. Word was out that Spike was in bed with her. Literally. I wasn't about to mess with no super vamp and **the** Slayer. Plus, there were rumors of her training an army to fight against First Evil. I'm not getting caught up in that mess. I was just a regular vampire trying to get up in the world. So I left town and came back here._

_Then, about a month ago, I heard another rumor. A beautiful, amazing, dream-come true, rumor. Buffy Fucking Summers and her friends had unlocked the powers of the Slayer to every single living Potentials in the **world**_. _No more super experienced Slayer and her Slayer-steroid induced vamp to go through. I could find my very own, unwitting, unsuspecting, Slayer!_

_So here I am, standing in the streets looking around. How do you know if someone's a Slayer? I closed my eyes and sniffed. Nope. Can't smell a Slayer. Can't tell what a Slayer looked like. This was turning out to be a bust. Maybe I should just go and drain some poor girl. Just when I had given up all hope and was about to resort to biting a whore I saw down the block, I noticed them. They were a group of four children. Probably teenagers by the look of them. One was an Asian boy that stunk like a dog. He could be a werewolf. There was another Asian, a girl of a different ethnicity than the boy. She had her arms around a blonde girl's waist. They seemed like a couple. Then there **she** was. It was almost as if she were a goddess. Don't get me wrong, I'm no pedophile, but there was just something about her that drew me in and kept me there. **She** was a Slayer. I was almost sure of it. No, not almost. I **was** sure. _

_So there I was, standing across the street from the stunningly beautiful prey of mine. It was ironic, really, me stalking a Slayer. But it felt…so right. Only thing to do was jump in, scare the little werewolf and the gay couple and **bam!** snatch the little Slayer off her feet and taste her warm blood. My mouth was watering just thinking about it. Fangs up, show time!_

_I walked with caution behind them. Slayers have keen senses I'm told. The werewolf seemed to favor walking close to her. I looked up at the sky. No full moon. Good. He's just a regular human, then. Maybe some heightened smell, but he didn't seem too seasoned with vamps to know what one would smell like. The two lesbos were off in their own world. They said something to my girl and then walked off on their own. Even more perfect. Now if that stupid werewolf would go. Ah, fuck it all. I'll just attack **now**!_

_I ran forward, tackling the girl from behind. I landed on top of her, her bottoms pushed against my privates. Man she got a nice form. I came down to her neck to bite. Before I even realized it, I was soaring through the air. I hit my back against a lamppost and fell onto the ground. Fucking Slayers and their strength. I looked up and she was already in front of me. She was trained. Damn it all to hell._

_She picked me up and threw me again. This time, it wasn't so pleasant. I broke a brick wall and landed in a market. I stood up and shook my head. She was good. I was getting excited. I mean, really excited. I would just love to penetrate that soft, beautiful skin…_

_I fell to the ground after being punched again and again. It was the beating of a lifetime I tell you. Nothing quite like getting your ass handed to you by a girl. Something to tell later generations, right?_

"_Bad luck, vampire. I mean of all the people you could've attacked you attacked **me**. I feel sorry for you, really." The girl said. Another punch came down on me. I thought I heard my cheekbone break. God, I loved it. Every second of it. No, I'm not a masochist. Well…actually I don't know. Whatever. Next punch she threw I blocked it and caught her by the throat as I flew upwards. I put my leg behind her and tripped her. She fell on the ground. I jumped on top of her, feeling her young warm form beneath me. This was it. This was the moment I've been waiting for. She was fighting back under me, but I had the upper hand. I lowered my face to her neck and licked it. Salty. I bit in. My fangs penetrated her skin and it was more wonderful than I had ever imagined. Her sweet, warm blood filled my mouth and I drank it down like it was the last thing I was ever going to drink. It was pure ecstasy. I just about had two mouthfuls of her when something attacked me. It was strong. I felt fangs clamping down on my shoulder. I threw it off. It was the werewolf. _

_One thing I learned a few decades ago was that if you ever faced a werewolf, you run. No point in fighting it. It was strong, fast, smart…well not so much the latter, but you catch the drift. It was stronger than me that was for sure. Even with the two gulp-fulls of Slayer blood running through me, I would've tied against a werewolf, max. So I did what any sane, self-respecting, Slayer-hunting vampire would've done. I bailed. I ran like I've never run before. And I gotta tell you, Slayer blood goes a **long** way. I was faster than ever before. _

_I had run only a few blocks before the werewolf caught up to me, though. It growled at me and I smiled. If it really wanted a fight, I guess I couldn't deprive it of one. And after testing out my new powers running, I was ecstatic to try it out again. Yes, I might not be as strong as that Spiky-boy yet, but I'm sure I was strong enough to face a stupid dog._

"_Come at me, boy." I taunted. The thing was really angry all right. It was as if it understood me. Werewolves aren't supposed to understand you. And they're especially not supposed to transform when there's not fucking full moon! "You're interesting. Not half as interesting as that hot Slayer." Did I say hot? Okay, so maybe I did think of her sexually, but that was only because she looked like she was older. Anyways, I'm a vampire. Rules don't concern me._

"_Woof" was what it said to me. Or something like that in werewolf. It was meant to be threatening and ferocious, but to me it sounded like a Chiwawa barking up the wrong tree. I got ready. It attacked. I grabbed its mouth and pulled it open. Its jaw shut tight and my fists hit each other, it's teeth sinking into my palms. Ouch. That hurt. Angered, I spun myself up onto the wolf and wrapped my arm around it's neck. I cranked. It made noises. I thought it was about ready to pass out, but out of nowhere it jerked uncontrollably. I've been to my fair share of rodeos before. I've ridden those buffalos. Trust me, a werewolf is a billion times crazier than a stupid buffalo. I was thrown halfway down the street and before I could get up, it was on top of me, clamming its teeth into my flesh. I bent my knees and put my feet onto its chest. I kicked upwards as hard as I could. As it flew up, taking a part of my forearm with it. I rolled clear and it slammed against the ground where I laid just moments before. As I lay panting and waiting for my arm to heal, the werewolf turned back into its fragile, naked human form. _

_I was about to finish the job when I saw the Slayer come running at me. I was in no condition to fight, and she seemed to have regained her strength. I stood up and ran again. This time, there wasn't a werewolf to follow me. I made it back to my humble-abode and fell onto my bed. Light was coming up soon. It had been a long, long night. See, I wasn't discouraged. I wasn't upset. I was interested. The so-far extremely sexy unnamed Slayer was fast becoming an obsession. I could feel it beneath my cold, dead skin. She was going to be a thrilling fun game. And my oh my, the things I would just **love** to do to her…_


	6. Chapter Five: MIA

**Chapter Five: MIA**

_A month had gone by since my date with Jane. Fifteen days had passed since Homecoming. We had become a couple. Jane was an absolutely amazing girl. She was funny as hell and I couldn't take my eyes off of her...or hands for that matter. I would never have thought that my first relationship would be with someone like her. I was probably the luckiest girl in the world. Julia, on the other hand, not so lucky. She had a bump in with a vampire and the thing had bit her. Second time a vampire's done that. It's becoming a trend, isn't it? And worst of all, Zack had been badly injured. This was a week ago. Zack had healed…for the most part and we had told his mother there was a mugging to cover up for his extremely bad condition. Julia wasn't too happy though. And I can't blame her. I would be upset, too. It was like they were targeting her. And I felt horrible for not being there to help the two of them. I was so into Jane that night, especially with that gorgeous top she had on that made her almost irresistible, that I had failed to notice that there was a vampire attack! Right under my nose! And to top that off, werewolf-Zack rampaged through the street and fought the thing. And what was I doing? I was making out with my extremely well dressed girlfriend. Okay, so anybody could've made that mistake, but I still felt guilty, you know?_

"Can you say '_**BORING**_'?" Zack sighed. He yawned and stretched his arms. "I mean, who cares about Mesopotamia?" He dropped his pen and leaned back against his chair.

"I don't know," Jane said, twirling her pencil between her fingers. Sexy. Satsu shook her head and tried to focus on her readings. "Early civilizations are pretty cool."

"Talking to a complete nerd. I forgot." Zack said and then he smiled. "Kidding! Ish…"

"Zack," Satsu said, pretending as if she were concentrating on book in front of her. "If you hate studying with us so much, why are you here?"

"One," Zack said cracking his knuckles. "It's my house. Two, I know you two aren't going to be studying if I'm not here. Am I right or am I right?" He was in an awfully cheerful mood that day. Jane looked over a Satsu and giggled. "Right. Three, I really don't want to be alone right now." That was serious, however and it completely changed the mood of the room. "I can't stop imaging that fight. Both me and Julia could've died, you know?" Julia and I. But that wasn't the time to correct grammar. "I mean just one slip up and we're completely and utterly screwed." Zack stopped. Satsu could almost tell what he wanted to say. _Dusting vampires and helping the weak is cool and everything, but one slip up and we could be dead. And that was __**one**__ lousy vampire we're talking about that rocked our world. I can't even imagine facing anything stronger._ At least that's that Satsu thought Zack wanted to say.

"I know what you mean, Zack." Was all that Satsu could say.

"Yeah," Zack said, staring at his pen. "I don't know, Satsu. It's just a reality check is all…" He shook his head and then smiled, all of a sudden cheerful again. Satsu had always admired that ability in him. The phone rang and Zack jumped out of his seat. Anything to distract him from his school work was good enough for him. He picked up the phone and was talking inaudibly. Jane touched my foot under the table. I looked up from my book and smile. Footsies was a bit cliché, but Satsu didn't mind. _Gotta admit, footsies, fun. _Satsu ran her feet up Jane's smooth legs. _Guess Zack was right, _Satsu thought, _we would never had studied if he weren't here._ Just when things were getting good, Zack returned. "Hey, have you guys heard from Jules?"

"No, I haven't seen her the past couple of days either."

"Not unlike her to drop off the map after something bad has happened." Zack said. "She likes dealing with things on her own."

"Hey," Jane said, putting down her pencil. "I know we normally avoid this topic as much as possible…" Zack looked over at Satsu but she avoided his eyes. "…but that mugging was _**really**_ bizarre. Am I right? I mean…Satsu and I left for a like half an hour and we find you _**naked**_…in the middle of the street. How'd that happen?"

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to talk about it, Jane." Satsu said hastily. She got up and picked up the phone. "Have you tried Jules's house, Zack?" Zack looked up from where he had been staring for the past minute.

"Uh—yeah. Her mom said she didn't get back from work last night. Said it's not like her but I told her not to worry. She can take care of herself…" Zack frowned. "But I don't know. It really _**isn't **_like her to be gone so long. I mean—where can she go?"

"You tried her cell?" Satsu asked. She wasn't really worried. She just wanted to keep the topic off of the attack.

"Yeah I did. No response. Well it went straight to voice mail." Zack replied. "Actually, now I'm starting to get a bit worried."

"I'm sure she's fine, Zack." Satsu said. It's Julia for God's sakes.

"You should try her boyfriend." Jane suggested. Satsu quickly kicked Jane under the table. A little too hard, actually. Jane jumped and glared at Satsu. Satsu mouthed "sorry".

"She...doesn't have a boyfriend, Jane." Zack said slowly. _Crap! Stupid Jane! I thought I told her that he didn't know yet! Wait...I don't think I did. _"So she's back with him, huh?" Zack asked, looking at Satsu with puppy-dog eyes.

"Kind of," Satsu said hesitantly. "They're seeing each other again." Zack nodded, clenching his jaws.

"I'll call him." Zack left the room. Zack and James used to be good friends. They had a few classes together and got a long pretty well. Zack even helped James get together with Julia when he found out Julia liked James. Then things went downhill when Julia broke up with James and Zack realized his long bottled up feelings for her. Now...they're not doing so good. Long story short, anyways.

"I didn't know...he didn't know." Jane said apologetically. Satsu frowned and held Jane's hand.

"Yeah, it's okay. Sorry I kicked you so hard. Don't know my own strength sometimes."

"Yeah!" Jane yelled. "I'm going to have a bruise now!" Satsu brought Jane's hand up to her face and sicked it softly.

"Sorry," Satsu said again. Jane smiled and leaned in. They were about to kiss when Zack came in the room again. They broke apart as fast as they could.

"She's not with him. She was suppose to meet him this morning but she never showed." They all looked at each other, worried, but trying their best to think optimistically. She was a trained Slayer!

"You worried the mugger came back to get Julia?" Jane asked. Zack and Satsu looked at each other.

"Maybe it's better if we go to the theater." Zack suggested. Satsu nodded.

The theater was located on the other end of town. It was a far drive and Satsu never really understood why Julia worked so far away. Satsu sat in the back with Jane and Jane would sneak a kiss in whenever she thought Zack wasn't looking. Eventually he noticed and looked in the rear view mirror back at them.

"Don't stop on the account of me seeing." He smiled.

"Focus on the damn road, Zack." Satsu said, not pulling away from Jane. They arrived at the crowded theater and proceeded to customer service.

"Hi, how can I help you?" The man behind the counter asked.

"Hi," Zack said. "Do you know Julia Maze? She works night shifts here."

"Yes, I know her. Is there a problem?" he asked. He seemed concerned, as if there had been complains about her before.

"Well, see we're her friends. Did she come to work yesterday?" Zack asked. The man nodded.

"Yes she did. Is there a problem?" he asked again.

"Should there be a problem?" Jane asked. Satsu looked over at her, surprised.

"What? No—"

"Because you seemed like you're a bit on edge there." Jane eyed the man suspiciously. Satsu smiled, amused that her normally shy girlfriend wasn't half bad at interrogation.

"She didn't come home last night." Zack said. "She might've gone over to a friend's house or something, but we just wanted to be sure."

"She was here last night." The man said. "And she got into an argument with a customer. He told her that she was going to, and I quote, 'get it'." The man shook his head. "I don't know what happened after that. She finished her shift and left."

"Can I talk to your manager?" Zack demanded.

"I _**am**_ the manager, kid." The man said, pointing at the sign pinned to his shirt.

"So a worker of yours is _**threatened**_ and you let her leave at night by herself." Zack pointed out. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Zack," Satsu said, grabbing his arm. "Julia can take care of herself. I'm pretty sure she's fine." Zack nodded and looked back at the manager.

"Now it's my turn to threaten you." He said and he was serious. "If _**anything**_ happened to Julia because of your inadequacy, if she's hurt in anyway…I'll kill you." With that he proceeded out of the theater. Jane looked over at Satsu, obviously worried. Satsu shook her head slightly and put her arm around her girlfriend's shoulders and followed after Zack.

"Zack, calm down. She'll be fine." Zack pushed back his long black hair and threw a punch at his car, denting it. "Zack!"

"Goddammit! Did you hear that stupid son of a bitch?" Satsu put her arm on Zack's shoulder and he winced away.

"This isn't your fault, Zack." Satsu reassured him. "And we don't even know if there _**is**_ anything wrong." Zack shook his head and let out a sigh.

"I couldn't protect her once, Satsu. I'm not going to let it happen again. I _**can't**_. I—I don't know what I'd do with myself." He slid down onto the ground, leaning against his old car. Jane was about to say something but she thought better of it and didn't.

"There are two things we can do." Jane finally said after some time.

"Yeah? What's that?" Zack asked, not looking up at her.

"We can either all sit here and wonder what the hell happened…or we can find the S.O.B that threatened Julia." Zack looked up at her and nodded.

"You're right. Let's find the guy." Satsu extended her hand and helped Zack up. Zack, Satsu, and Jane began walking back towards the theater, but before they made it through the automatic glass door, they bumped into the manager.

"I'm glad I caught you." The man said. He seemed a bit jumpy.

"Why?" Satsu asked cautiously.

"I did follow her." Guilt was evident in his voice. "She—I saw five men jump her. I was scared out of my wits. I ran. Okay?"

"You _**ran**_? You saw a girl get jumped by _**five**_ men and you fucking ran?" Zack grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off up his feet. He slammed his against a nearby car. The alarm out off. Satsu slowly looked up at Zack's eyes. They were pitch black. _No._

"Zack," Satsu said warningly.

"You pathetic little—"

"What the hell are you on, kid?" the man's voice was shaking. "Look—I'm sorry. I'm just a guy trying to live. Okay? I'm no hero."

"You're definitely not." Jane spat, putting her hand on Zack's arm. "It's okay, Zack. Let him go. We'll find her." Her touch seemed to bring him back down to earth. He let go of the man, his arms shaking.

"Yeah. These guys," Satsu asked, taking her eyes off of Zack after she was sure he wasn't going to turn. "was there anything peculiar about them?"

"What do you mean peculiar?" The man asked. He knew something.

"Just answer the damn question."

"It was—it was dark." The manager said, straightening his uniform. "I don't remember."

"Well _**remember**_." Threatened Zack. The man jumped at Zack's voice.

"I—I—okay. Um…one of them…I saw one of their faces." The man said shakily. "He uh—looked kinda—you know…deformed. Like one of those people with fucked up faces."

"You're a hell of a charmer, anyone ever tell you that?" Satsu asked angrily. "How was his face 'fucked up'? Was it scrunched up between the eyes? Fangs?"

"What? No." the man said. "He uh—well he was kind of red. I mean really red, you know? Like if someone had thrown paint on his face…only you could tell that it wasn't paint. And his arms were disproportionately large. Guess it's just some weird deformity." The lengths people would go to, to avoid admitting that there were supernatural beings lurking the earth. _This definitely didn't sound like any vampire though._

"Didn't even occur to you to call the cops did it?" Satsu asked. Rhetorical question.

"I—didn't want to get involve."

"Where were they?" Jane asked.

"In the back. She didn't finish her shift. I asked her to go throw the trash out back. After twenty minutes when she hadn't come back I went to check. They were a little further down the alley. I saw them and I was too scared to…" He was whimpering now.

"Pathetic." Zack said shaking his head. "We need to go out back. And you—get the hell out of my sight before I change my mind about not killing you."

_Was I starting to worry about Julia's safety? You bet I was. I was practically shaking with fright. She was my best friend…she was more than that. I loved her in a million different ways and now she could be hurt. It all felt too unreal. One moment we were just studying and talking…the next we're trying to find her…and she's __**really**__ missing. Zack was angry and overreacting. I couldn't blame him. He could channel his fear and turn it into anger. I couldn't even do that. If those things that attacked her weren't vamps, then what the hell were they? We've never, ever, had an encounter with anything but vampires since we've gotten our powers. They are just bottom feeders...I don't know if I'm ready for anything else yet. I mean…first time I saw a vampire I was so scared I couldn't stand. What the hell am I going to do when I see something worse? Something that would make a vampire look like a child?_

The back was a typical dark alley. There was a dumpster and it smelled of urine. It couldn't have gotten more cliché then that. Satsu looked from one end of the alley to the other. There wasn't anything there.

"You take left, I'll take right." Zack said to her. Satsu took Jane's hand and the two of them turned left. A few yards down Satsu saw it. There had been a fight. Bricks were broken; blood was all over the walls.

"Zack!" Satsu yelled. She was almost sure that Jane could've heard her heart thumping in her chest. Zack rushed towards them and examined the scene.

"Holy shit." Zack said, looking around. "She put up a hell of a fight." He turned around and around again, examining every inch of the place. "Nothing. No body. No puddles of blood. No drag marks. There was a fight and then it looks like they just vanished."

"You're right," Jane observed. She seemed scared. "Look we better call the cops, okay? The more we wait the—" She stoped mid-sentence. Both Satsu and Zack were busy examining the scene to notice. When Jane stopped talking, Satsu looked up at her. She was staring in horror at something in the distance.

"Jane?" Satsu asked. She stood up and tried to find what Jane was so scared of. It didn't take long. Four. There were four walking towards them. Just as the manager had described them, they were redder than blood. They looked like something out of a comic book, _Hellboy _maybe. But they were real, and they looked horrific. Satsu put her hand out and push Jane back a little. "Stay behind us. Zack!" Zack was huffing and puffing. He was ready to turn.

"Might wanna strip before you turn, Zacko." Satsu said. He actually did take off his clothes after Satsu mentioned it.

"What the hell are you doing, Zack? What the hell's going on?" Jane was shaking and Satsu turned to hold her.

"_**Run**_." She said. With that, Zack turned and the hairy beast charged at the four red monsters. Satsu pushed Jane hard. "Run, Godammit!" Then, she too charged towards the monsters. Zack tackled one of them and was wrestling with it on the ground. The one close by Zack picked him up and threw him. He whizzed passed Satsu. These things were strong. Much, much stronger than vampires.

Satsu charged forward and threw a kick. It hit a demon square in the chest and it flew backwards several yards. One of them grabbed Satsu's arm and twisted it behind her back. She elbowed it behind it's ears, grabbed it's head from behind her, the tossed it over her shoulder. Those things felt like were made of rock. She felt a fist connect with her jaw. It took her off her feet and she slammed hard against the floor. She felt herself being picked up and thrown. She hit werewolf Zack. Growling, he jumped over her and rushed at the red-rock-like men. Satsu followed suit.

The battle went on for quite some time. Satsu managed to get the upper hand on one of them and broke it's neck. The head came clean off and the body crumbled like the red rocks they were. But that didn't do much. Three against two was still overwhelming, especially since Zack wasn't having much luck against them. Apparently, his teeth and claws could only scratch them. Satsu found herself fighting two of them at once. After delivering a few fierce punches, Satsu found her strength wavering. After being _**taking**_ a few fierce punches, she found herself on the ground, bleeding, tired, distraught. With all her strength she looked up and found Zack had already returned to his human form. Then she heard something.

"Got this one trying to run." It said in a low voice. Satsu saw only their legs, but she knew who it was. Jane had been caught. "They killed Lou, huh?"

"Yeah. Do we need her? She have any abilities?" asked the one that was standing over the naked Zack.

"I doubt it. But we could sell her for a hefty price, I'm sure. How about them?"

"The werewolf could be of use. And this one's like the other bitch. Strong." said the man standing over Satsu.

"She took down Lou then?"

"Yeah."

"Well, Betrix is going to be happy then. She was pretty pleased when Lou presented her with the other one. So he said."

"Good. Bag 'em boys. We're bringing them back home." With that, Satsu felt a bag being pulled over her and then a _**smack!**_ on the back of her head. She lost consciousness…


	7. Chapter Six: The Kiss

**Chapter Six: The Kiss**

_Okay, so it was __**failed**__ rescue mission. But you got to give us some points for trying. I was in complete darkness for a long time, and if I hadn't been claustrophobic before, I definitely was now. When I had regained consciousness after my head had that encounter with their fist earlier, I found myself not really knowing if I was awake. It wasn't until they pulled the bag off my head that I realized it. Zack and Jane were lying next to me, both of them motionless. _

"This one's been up," said one of them. They were seated in what appeared to be a waiting room.

"Is Betrix done with the one Lou brought in yet?" asked another.

"Want me to go check?"

"Yeah, I'm anxious, Greg." It smiled at Satsu as Greg left the room. Satsu tested the rope that bounded her arms. It wasn't too strong. She could snap it and run…but where the hell was she? She looked around the room. It wasn't like anything she had ever seen before. There were roots and vines growing in the room along the walls but they were blue. The ground she was lying on was red. Red dirt, as red as those things were.

"Betrix want us to bring her in, Abu." Greg said as he reentered the room. _Human names, _was what came to Satsu's mind.

"What about these two?" Abu asked, indicating Zack and Jane.

"Sam and Tuck will take them to get them tagged with Zone. Zone'll be pleased to see the two of them."

"We don't need to get her tagged?" Abu asked as he pulled Satsu to her feet.

"Betrix wants to meet her _**now**_." Greg answered as he opened the door. The two of them escorted Satsu through a long, almost never ending hallway. After a few turns and a few more turns, they finally got to a large door. It was wooden, much unlike the other doors of the place, which had blue vines and all sorts of different things growing on them. No, this door was distinctly human. Greg knocked on it twice before stepping back. Tugging on Satsu's arm, Abu, too, backed away from the door. After some time, the overly sized double doors opened itself, ajar. Greg and Abu pulled the doors open completely then pushed Satsu through. Inside was a very large, very white room. In the middle was a medieval looking torture device. There were chains lying on the floor next to it and blood all over the room. Someone had recently been tortured. _Is it my turn now?_

"Ah, so this is the one, then?" came a woman's voice. "She's not as pretty as the other one." The woman was a redhead, tall and skinny. She had on a tank top that fit her well. Her arms were defined and she had an air of authority to her. She smiled. "It's all good. I don't need to spend as much time with her as the other one, anyways."

"What do you mean?" Abu asked looking around the room. "Where _**is**_ the other one, Betrix?"

"Broken." Smiled Betrix. "She's healing now. Bring her closer." Abu pulled Satsu closer to the woman and Betrix grabbed Satsu's face, turning her from side to side. "This one is strong, too, you said?"

"Yes," Greg said. "Ripped Lou's head clean off."

"Wonderful," Betrix let go of Satsu and turned her back to them. "I won't waste my time breaking this one." She said.

"But—she could be of use." Protested Abu.

"Abu—has it been so long since I broke _**you**_ that you have forgotten to be scared of me?" the woman asked. Satsu could see Abu's eyes widen and he backed away slowly with his head lowered. He was shaken up. "The big boss himself told me that he only wanted one more on the hunting party, now if we have _**two**_ super strengthed fighters, what do you suggest we do? Especially since one has already been broken?"

"Use the other one…" Abu said, his voice obedient now.

"Right, you are, Abu. Now—take her out of my sight and execute her."

"Wait!" Greg yelled. Betrix's eyes flashed and she glared at Greg. Both Greg and Abu cowarded. "I don't mean to undermine your authority, I am only thinking that if this one is stronger and we kill her—" Betrix rolled her eyes and let out a sigh.

"Okay," Betrix said slowly. "What do you suggest?"

"We bring in a Connector and ask the big boss himself." Greg suggested.

"Ugh," Betrix groaned. "You know, Gregory, as much as I am impressed with your work ethic…you make it so much harder for the rest of us to slack off." Greg lowered his head even lower. _My God these guys are scared of her. She's just…a regular human. _"Bring me a Connector!" she yelled. The doors swung open almost immediately and in came a small-cloaked figure. When the person came closer Satsu could see that it was another demon. This one was blue with black lines swirling around its face. It was a female.

"What do wish, mam?" the Connector said. Her voice was small and almost fragile.

"I need to talk to Him." Betrix said. The Connector nodded her head and took off her hood, She was completely bald and Satsu could see the black tattoos swirling its way from the back of her head and down her neck. She placed a hand on Betrix's shoulder and her eyes turned radiant white.

"You are connected," said the Connector. "You can talk to him now." Betrix closed her eyes. She seemed to be concentrating hard.

"Master?" she asked. "Yes, sir, it's the Breaker." There was silence. "No, sir. I didn't know you were…of course. My apologies. I have here another human who's strong enough to kill one of the hunters. Yes, sir. Since Lou was killed, I was thinking you could keep both of them." She paused. "No, I didn't mean to impose on your orders sir. Of course. I think that's the best way to deal with it." She opened her eyes and the Connector let go.

"Thank you, Amelia. You can leave." Betrix waited until the girl named Amelia had left the room before she continued talking. "The boss wants them to fight it out. And since I've already broken the other one, we don't need to break this one yet. Personally, I'm rooting for the other one…less work for me if she wins." Betrix flicked her hand. "Take her to the cells. I'll prep Julia for the battle. This one can wait there till then."

_I could've broken out of my bounds and made a run for it. Thing was, I didn't know where I was, and I definitely wasn't going to leave without Zack, Jane, and Julia. So I let them lead me down, down, down, and down into what they called The Cell. It was much like the waiting room only it was overly crowded and there were bars to keep the prisoners in. They opened up the metal doors and threw me in. Locking it, Abu gave me a wink before he left._

"Satsu!" Zack yelled. He and Jane were standing on the other side of the cell. Satsu pushed her way through the crowded room and got to them. Zack gave her a tight hug but Jane was standing some distance from them.

"Jane—are you okay?" Satsu asked. She reached out her hand but Jane flinched away. "What's wrong?" Satsu asked. _Stupid! What's wrong?_

"What's _**wrong**_?" Jane yelled. The room stared at them. "What the hell is going on here, Satsu? You and Zack seem pretty friggen okay considering we were attacked by red monsters, kidnapped, and thrown into cell with _**other**_ monsters."

"She's just kidding guys! Don't need to get mad!" Satsu yelled before she grabbed Jane and pulled her to a corner. "Look—I can't explain everything right now, okay? We don't have time."

"We're in a cell, Satsu…we've got a lot of time. And what the hell? Zack can turn into a fighting monkey?"

"Werewolf, people! Werewolf!" Zack hissed.

"Okay, yes—werewolves exist. Zack's one of them. There are demons…which most of these people are. There are vampires…who 'mugged' Zack and Julia. And I'm what you call—a Slayer. I have super strength. So does Julia." _That was way too much to process. Dammit. Should've said that in smaller parts. _Jane was just staring at Satsu, unable to speak. It _**was**_ too much to comprehend.

"She's not joking, Jane." Zack corrected.

"Seeing as how I'm _**freaked **_out right now, she better not be." Jane closed her eyes and breathed heavily. "Okay, okay. I'm just going to take your word on all of this, but you're going to have to explain to me all this a hell of a lot better than that if we ever get out of here, okay?" Satsu nodded and took Jane's hand.

"You're not mad at me or freaked out about us are you?" Jane laughed sarcastically.

"Those two things are _**exactly**_ what I am." But instead of pushing away Satsu's hand she held it tighter. "But I'm not letting you off the hook that easily." Satsu nodded and kissed Jane on the forehead.

"Alright, this would be cute and all, girls, but we're about to get totally f—" Zack stopped dead. His eyes grew wide and then he leaned against the bars. "Julia! Jules! Jules!" Julia was walking with Betrix, side by side. She had on a long black cape that flapped behind her. After Zack almost scratched his throat off screaming, Julia finally turned to look at them. She stopped and touched Betrix gently on the shoulder. Then, she walked slowly over to them, with a smirk on. There were some deep cuts on her face too. They had tortured her.

"Jules, you okay?" Zack asked. He reached out his hand to her but she merely stared at it. She looked away and straight at Satsu.

"She's the one I'm fighting, right?" She asked Betrix.

"Yes," Betrix said. "She's the one."

"Boy," Julia said. She sounded bored. "do I feel sorry for _**you**_." She turned around sharply, her leather cape slapping against the metal bars.

"What the hell was that?" Jane asked, looking from Zack and Satsu.

"I don't—I don't know." Satsu said.

"Because to me—it seems like she's on _**their **_side." Jane pointed out, unnecessarily.

"Yeah—I can see that—" Satsu was at a loss. She didn't know what was going on. She didn't know where she was. She just wanted to be at home…not that she even had that anymore.

"There's a reason." Zack said, sternly. "There has to be. Either she's acting the part—or they brainwashed her. Whatever it is—we're going to get to the bottom of it."

"Yeah—but if she _**is**_ brainwashed—and I have to fight her—I don't know what's going to happen, Zack." Sastu leaned against the bar and slid down. She covered her face and groaned. "I don't know if I can _**beat **_her let alone know what's going to happen if I did."

"We're at an impasse…" Jane muttered.

"They've got the upper hand."

"We'll think of something, Satsu—we always do."

"Show time!" came Greg's voice. Abu, Sam, and Tuck were at his side. "And the boss wants all of you to watch. Entertainment. Best thing since cable." Abu grabbed Satsu and pulled her out of the cell. Greg pushed a button from the outside and the whole cell moved up. It was an elevator…

"You ready, little girl?" Greg asked with a grin on his face.

"Of course," Satsu said, sounding braver than she felt. They took her up several flights of stairs and into large field. The cell was already there and Satsu could see Zack and Jane pressing against the bars to get a clearer look at her. They were going to let them watch as she and Julia fought to the death. _Great_. Julia was on the other side of the field with Betrix and Betrix was telling her something. Satsu's heart was beating wildly in her chest. Abu untied her.

"Any weapon of choice?" he asked her. Satsu shook her head. _No. I'm not going to kill her_. "Your call." Betrix walked over to the middle of the field and raised her hands. Julia walked towards her and Greg gave Satsu a push. Reluctantly, Satsu walked towards her too.

"Can everyone hear me?" Betrix asked. It was almost as if she were standing next to each and everyone of them. It was some sort of spell. "Speak, girls, your names."

"Julia Maze." Julia said as she drew her sword.

"I'm Satsu." Satsu said. Their voices, too, were spelled.

"Good. May the best girl win." Betrix left the two of them standing, face-to-face. Satsu's legs were shaking. She didn't know what to do, what to think, how to act.

"Good to see you here, Satsu." Julia said slowly.

"You recognize me?"

"Of course I do."

"What's going on, Jules? What the hell's happening?"

"Death match. You against me. Slayer versus Slayer. Going to fun."

"What's wrong with you? What'd they do to you, Jules?"

"What they did _**for **_me, is opened my mind. See humans are such fragile creatures. All they're good for is being controlled. I want to be part of their hunting party, Satsu. That's where I belong. And you are in my way. So I am going to have to kill you." And there it was. Zack could hear every word. The girl he loved was a traitorous bitch.

"Fine," Satsu said. "Let's get this over with then." Julia looked at Satsu's hand.

"No weapon? You really do underestimate me, girl. You think you can beat me with no weapon?"

"I know I can." Satsu said. Anger was swelling in her. She wanted to beat some sense into her once best friend. Nothing made sense, but nothing ever did anymore. Julia smirked and threw her sword to the side. She raised her fists.

"Let's do this then." Before Satsu could even raise a finger, Julia's fist came crashing against her face. Satsu lost her balance and fell onto her knee. Before Julia could kick her, however, Satsu double legged her, picking her up off the ground, and then slamming her down. Satsu fought her way onto her and got in two good punches before she was thrown off. They both stood up, face-to-face again.

"Wow, someone's been working out." Julia taunted.

"Someone's gotta pick up your slack. Vamps don't dust themselves." Satsu said backing away from a punch Julia threw.

"Well, I'm just glad that this won't be as _**pathetic**_ as the last time we fought. You remember? When I kicked your ass so hard it turned you on? Made you all _**hot**_." _Not something I like bringing up, there, Jules._

"If my memory serves, you were the one who tried to get me to kiss you." Satsu gave Julia her best kick but Julia blocked it and moved in for a punch. It missed Satsu by a mere centimeter. "That's something straight girls always do, right?"

"It was the best way to tell if you're in love with me." Julia laughed. "Which you obviously are." Satsu couldn't say anything back. She didn't know _**what**_ to say back. All she could think about was how she was going to get both of them out of the battle alive. "Aww, c'mon Satty, you practically have 'I'm in love with Julia' written all over that cute face of yours. I mean," Julia smirked at this, "you're worse at hiding it than Zack is." _Enough is enough._

"Are we going to fight or are we just going to stand here and talk all day?"

"Oh, that was such a good comeback, Satsu. You really put a lot of thought into that one didn't you. But okay, let's dance." The two of them seemed to match each other, blow for blow. They exchanged several ineffective shots until Satsu got in a good upper cut that sent Julia up in the air. Not letting Satsu get the chance to keep attacking, Julia shot up immediately.

"Ready to admit that I'm just plain better than you?" Satsu asked. She couldn't remember the exact words Julia used the last time they fought.

"You're going to pay for that one." Julia rushed forward and both her arms came crashing against Satsu's head behind her ears. Disoriented, Satsu felt a kick to the sternum. She fell backwards onto the floor. Julia climbed slowly onto her. She ran her hands from Satsu's stomach, over her breasts, and then onto her face. She grabbed Satsu's head, lifted it up, and gave her a long kiss with her tongue practically down Satsu's throat. After that, she gave her a finishing blow to the face. Everything went black...


	8. Chapter Seven: Betty's Tricks

**_A/N: I wrote this chapter before I finished chapter 5 and before I started chapter 6. After some consideration, I figured it'd fit best here. Please R&R and tell me what you think. Thank you!_**

**Chapter Seven: Betty's Tricks**

"Three feet to the left. That's right. Perfect. Sweetheart, look up will you?" First guess of the man's age would've been "ancient" if the man hadn't spoken. He had a strong and booming voice that did not match his skinny frail figure at all. He had long frosty white shoulder length hair, a large crooked nose, and his yellow, rotting teeth were gapped. He was probably the most hideous figure Julia had ever seen. She would've commented on the fact if she weren't bound and gagged. She twisted uncomfortably but was pushed forward. She was in front of the hideous man now and he smiled, his black gums seemed to ooze. "Pretty, pretty, bird. Where'd you get this one, Lou?"

"Human dimension." Said the grossly looking demon that had pushed her. "She likes butting her nose into things where it don't belong."

"I see, I see. Well un-gag the whore. I can't take a picture when you have half her face covered up!" Lou growled in his throat and then shook Julia, indicating for her not to move if she knew what was good for her. Of course she wasn't going to move. Her arms were tied behind her back!

"You need to calm down, there, Zone. Some might say you're starting to get a little too comfortable with you're position."

"That wasn't a treat, was it Lou? Because you know what happens when I get threatened. I work...just a little bit slower. Slow enough to make the lot of you stay in line for a _**month**_!" Zone yelled. Lou growled again but he didn't say anything else.

"The hell are you people?" Julia managed to yell through her dry throat. She was scared. Dead scared. The old man smiled wide and snapped a picture. The bright lights blinded Julia for a second.

"Someone get her water. And more importantly, _**off**_ my stage! Next!" The red demon that had untied her pushed her forward, taking her off the stand and into a room. She looked around the small space, scared out of her wits.

"You want to know what I am, little girl? I am a demon and am a Hunter." The demon's voice was low, making him hard to hear.

"I'm guessing you don't hunt deer." Julia said, feeling tears starting to swell in her eyes. She wasn't going to cry. She was going to be strong. She refused to blink, because if she had, the tears would've rolled down her cheeks.

"Humans are my specialty." He gave her a push and she fell onto the chair behind her. "So why don't you stay and think about how you got here while I negotiate a price for you. Okay?" He turned and closed the door behind him. How did she get here? Julia took in a quivering breath. It had happened a few hours ago…

_**Five Hours Ago:**_

_I hate lines. Lines are stupid. They make people look like sheep waiting to be slaughtered. I especially hate lines for something as stupid as a cup of flippin' coffee. Ugh. Drones! Move! Or I'm going to have to physically force my way up there!_

Julia stomped her foot impatiently as she waited in what seemed to be a never-ending line. It was the closest coffee shop by the theater that she worked at and if she didn't get her coffee soon she'd pass out before her shift was over. Sure, she could've gotten coffee in the theater, but the line there was twice as long as this was. Lines. Stupid lines. A man walked up to the front of the line, stared in and walked back down. He cut right in front of her.

"Um, excuse me!" she said, tapping his shoulder. "You just cut me in line." He was a middle-aged man, with peppered hair and a large mustache. His belly seemed ready to explode.

"Are you in grade school, kid? Cutting? Go tell the teacher." The man certainly didn't act his age.

"You just cut me in line." Julia repeated, anger swelling in her. "Now you're going to either get to the back of the line or you're in for some trouble."

"Are you threatening me, little missy?" She had had about enough. She cracked her knuckles and neck and licked her teeth.

"What if I am?"

_**Present:**_

"You awake, missy?" came a droning voice. Julia opened them slowly. Her eyelids were very heavy.

"Where—?" Julia looked around the room. "I'm still here." She jerked forward but realized not only were her arms tied, but her legs were as well. She surveyed the room again. She was somewhere else now. "Where the hell am I?" she yelled.

"Shh," the droning voice came again. It was a woman. Julia could look up…her eyes were too tired. She couldn't see the woman's face. "Everything is going to be okay, okay?"

"Who are you?" Julia asked weakly.

The woman said, "I'm the one who's going to break you." The lights came on. Bright, bright spotlights that turned the dark room into a light bulb. Making involuntary noises, Julia closed her eyes. Everything was red. Red was better than bright white. "You can open them now." Julia slowly opened her eyes. She wasn't sitting as she had thought. She was hung, with her arms tied in chains over her head and her legs the same below her. There were other people around, some men, some women, all demons, and all interested in _**her**_.

"Break me?" Julia asked. It was as if she was having delayed reaction.

"Yes." The woman said. Julia finally found enough strength to look up at the woman. She was _**human**_. She had long, flowing red hair and fair skin. In her hand, was a whip.

"Whoa, whoa." Julia yelled. She was regaining some of her strength. She tugged viciously at the chains. _**Smack!**_ The whip came down cold against her skin. It stung like nothing Julia had ever felt in her life.

"You will learn obedience, child."

"What the fuck is this?" Julia screamed with the top of her lungs. "What do you want?"

"_**Think**_. Think about how you got here."

_**Four Hours Ago:**_

_ Okay, I'm the first to admit when I've made a mistake. Throwing a stupid old man out of line, one of them. Especially when you're in uniform and right next to your place of work. So the old man comes into my workplace and calls up my manager. My manager, Nick, is something of an idiot. I mean, yeah, he isn't the worst guy in the world, but man is he __**normal**__. He's average looking, average thinking, average just about everything. I dated the guy a few times and he's average in the sack, too. And just in case you're wondering, he's average down there, as well. So now we maintain a strictly professional relationship, which I didn't much mind. As much as the job sucked, and as much as the drive was a bitch, I loved it there. I get to be away and just live my own life where no one knows that I was "popular" or that I'm the friggen Slayer. And free movies were always a plus. So when the guy that I threw out of line came in complaining to Old Saint Nicholas about me being a "rude, obnoxious, incompetent, unruly bitch", I was praying to dear God that I could keep my job._

"You see my problem here, boy?" The man asked. _God his voice was condescending._

"Sir," Nick said. "I'm very sorry." Oh, God, I'm screwed. "But what my employee does outside of the workplace is no concern of mine." The man looked shocked. I was shocked. "But I do realize that you are upset. So this is what I'll do." He turned to look at me. He knew that I had been listening in the whole time. "Julia, can you come here please?" Julia kept her head low, walking over to the two of them as quietly as possible. "Can you please apologize to the gentleman here?" Julia nodded and looked up at the man.

"I apologize, sir." _God, I hate myself!_

"I know you're not sorry. Don't say anything you don't mean." _If only I could crush his face in with my fists right…_

"She apologized. You can either accept it or not."

"Well I don't."

"Then there's nothing else I can offer you, sir." _Wow, Nick's kind of cool._

"You can fire the whore."

"Sir, I don't appreciate the derogatory terms you're using in reference to my employee. You can either walk yourself out of this vicinity or I'll have security escort you out." _And **hot**. Who cares if he's like five years older than me? _Julia bit her lower lip, scanning Nick up and then down and then up again. _He'd actually get some if I weren't back with James…back-ish._

"Listen close to me," the man said to Julia. "You're going to get it. You hear me? You're going to get it **_good_**." He gave her a smirk and then walked out of the theater.

"Man, you must have done something to _**really**_ hurt his pride." Nick said with a laugh.

"You know how men get around strong women." Julia gave him a wink. _Don't flirt, Julia, don't do it._

"Turned on?" Nick asked with smile.

"Professionalism, Mr. Norwood. Professionalism." Nick chuckled shaking his head.

"In all honesty though, you want me to escort you home tonight? Don't want him coming back giving you any trouble."

"You just want to get some tonight, don't you?" Julia licked her lower lip and then bit it.

"That _**could**_ definitely be a possibility if you want. But I just want you safe, Julia." _How sweet. Stop!_

"Well, I'll be fine, Nicholas Norwood. I can take care of myself." Nick nodded and then started to walk away. He turned back suddenly.

"Oh, and Julia?" Julia raised an eyebrow. "One more of those complaints and you're fired." He winked at her and left. Julia was left laughing to herself…

_**Present:**_

The pain was excruciating. Her whole body was in undeniable agony, and before she could catch her breath, it would come again. It had been an hour since she had started being tortured. Maybe more. What the hell did the woman want with her?

"What do you want with me?" Julia managed to ask through the patterned pain.

"I want you to _**remember**_."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Julia normally never cursed, but if there were ever such a time to, she found it oddly appropriate then.

"Let's try a different tact, huh? Stop the pain." The pain stopped. "My name is Betrix. I am the Breaker."

"Break what?"

"I want to break you into _**submission**_." The woman said. "I want you to become one of us. This isn't about torturing you. This is about helping you. See if you don't cooperate soon—if I can't literally beat some sense into you—they're going to execute you." She stopped and then scanned the room. "Everyone get the hell out of this room." The demons reluctantly followed her order. When the door closed her whole expression and body language changed. She seemed...kind. She leaned in and whispered into Julia's ears. "Look, I'm a human just like you. I offered them my assistance after they captured me. I was in the military. I was an interrogator. So I break demons that they find worthy of being part of their hunting pack. They hunt demons, people, _**anything **_that can be slaves for them. And whomever they find strong they turn into their own. That's what I do for them. I brainwash. But see, up until now, they've never brought another human in to be broken. I can't do this to you. But I can't _**not**_. You see where I'm going here?" _This woman…is completely insane._

"No,"

"I want you to pretend to be broken."

"Yeah? Sounds simple enough."

"Simple, yes. But _**hard**_. Very, very difficult. You've got to have a strong mind and a _**good**_ heart. Do you have that?" Julia nodded. "What's your name kid?"

"I'm Julia. Julia Maze."

"Okay, Julia, remember. Remember how you got here." _Why does she keep saying that?_

"I do remember how I got here. I don't understand why you keep—"

"_**Think**_ about it. Keep it embedded in your mind. Its one of the only things that will help you from being broken. The first step to keep yourself from turning into a mindless drone hunter is by keeping in touch with reality. You're Julia Maze. Now remember how you got here!" Her whip came slashing down at Julia's body again.

**Three Hours Ago:**

Julia walked uncomfortably around the crowded theater, sweeping the floor. She hated doing janitorial work. She'd much rather be selling tickets, although this time of night it really would've been a pain. The theater was the only place that was opened at that late hour, so a lot of people tended to flock there. Couples mostly, and some older people who had nothing else to do.

"Hey, Julia." Came Nick's voice. "Can you take out the trash?" _UGH!_

"Sure thing, boss." Julia said rolling her eyes. She picked up the bags of trash from each of the restrooms and made her way out back. The back was a stinky alley that she used to dread going to. Now, however, she wasn't so scared. She tossed the large black bags into the dumpster and turned to open the door. A hand reached behind her and grabbed her mouth. Someone picked her up. Then they threw her down. It were homeless men in front of her.

"Really? Dark alley. Girl. Men. Really original guys." Julia stood up and patted her clothes. "Why don't you three move along before you get hurt?" The three men roared into laughter. Apparently, Julia wasn't threatening. _Wait until you piss me off_.

"Where's Marcus?" One of them said.

"Marcus?" Julia asked.

"We're not talking to you." Said another.

"Who the heck's Marcus?" Julia demanded.

"The guy you pissed off. We're here to help him show you a lesson…the _**hard**_ way." The men laughed again.

"Disgusting." Julia said shaking her head. "So where is he? Scared?" Then she heard it. A long, loud, fearful scream. She rushed pasted the two of them and towards the noise. It was down the alley, quite a bit far down, actually. The three men followed behind her. When she arrived she saw Marcus on the ground with a bag over his head and his arms tied. She looked around. There were five figures in the dark.

"Okay, this isn't quite as unoriginal." She admitted, shifting into fighting stance.

"More for the taking." Said one of them. Three charged forward, passed Julia, and attacked the three men. They were taken out with such ease that it was unsettling. _These guys aren't humans. Vampires? _She looked into one of their faces. Red. Red as blood. _No, not vampires. Worse._ They bagged the three men as they did Marcus. "Scared, little girl?"

"I'm a bit unnerved, yeah." Julia said, scanning the five around her. _Just like training with Bergs, Julia. Only…no weapons and they're not four weaklings._ One of them got into range and she threw a punch. He went soaring into the night. She dodged a punch and tripped him. He fell to the ground and she climbed on top, punching him with all her might. The thing felt like rock. Someone grabbed her from behind and tossed her. She rolled on the ground a few times after landing and got back to her feet. The four in front of her rushed forward all at once. She jumped, twisted over heir heads, and landed behind them. One kick, two punch, three knee, four punch. They were all on the ground, struggling to stand upright. She kicked one of them in the chin as it was trying to get up. The guy flew into the air and did several back flips before he landed on his head. She heard a door open in the distance. Julia turned to look. It was Nick. _No! Run! Don't play hero, Nick! They'll kill you! RUN!_ And that was exactly what he did. He ran. Okay, not the most heroic of acts, but Julia didn't blame him for a second. He was just a guy trying to stay alive. A few months ago, she might've done the same. No, she probably was stupid enough to try to help. But she still didn't blame him.

"She's not human." Said one of the three that got up.

"I am _**to**_!" she yelled. Then she felt herself being thrown forward. She was attacked from behind. She hit her head against the ground as she fell. She was turned around and received several blows to the face before it stopped.

"Good one, Lou." Said one of them.

"Bag her, too?" Lou asked.

"Yeah, Betrix might be interested in her. This one would be a valuable member to the pact." She tried desperately to get up from under him but Lou gave her another blow to the face. Then she was bagged…

_**Present:**_

Another whip. And then another. The pain had started lessening. Her body had become numb. Julia took in a shaking breath and then exhaled. _How'd I get here? Right, alley. Got to remember that stupid alley. Nick…hope he's okay. Satsu…Zack…are you guys looking for me?_ Betrix moved in closer and whispered into her ears.

"How are you doing? You still remember?" Julia nodded her head, even that was painful. The pain shot through her spine and Julia winced. "Good, keep at it." _As if I have a choice?_

"So your parents really name you Betrix, Betrix?" Julia asked. Something to talk about was always better than nothing.

"No," Betrix laughed. _She was actually really kind for a torturer. If you're going to be tortured, might as well be by her. As least she does it with a kind smile on her face._

"So what was your name before 'Betrix'?" Julia could taste blood in her mouth. She spat it out but found she didn't even have the strength for that. It drooled down the side of her mouth.

"Betty. My name's Betty, but uh—might not want to call me that. Betrix commands more authority. Betty's kind of…"

"Girly?" Julia asked, her eyes closing on her,

"Something like that. These guys aren't exactly known to be feminists."

"Not many are, Bet." Julia inhaled. Betrix let out a single chuckle and nodded.

"Well I've earned some respect around here. And I'm risking it all on you, Julia. So you better be one hell of an actress." Julia laughed and she felt the pain shoot through her spine again.

"I'm in play productions at my high school. And I work at a movie theater. I think I can act okay." She breathed.

"Good," Betrix said. "Well, enough talking. Sorry, but you're going to have to go through another hour of this before they're going to believe you've been broken." Julia coughed, helpless and angry.

"That's fine." She said, clenching her jaw. "Bring on the pain."

_The torturing did end an hour later, and Betrix helped me into a room with a single bed. It was a pretty comfortable bed and everything seemed laid out for my convenience. She laid me down onto the bed and stroked my hair rather motherly. She left me in the room and I passed out. When I woke up she was there again, shaking me._

"What? What is it?" Julia asked. She had regained a lot of her strength. _Slayer powers, gotta love them._

"Do you know a really strong girl and a werewolf?" She asked. Julia shot up in her bed.

"Satsu and Zack!"

"Okay, here's the plan. You're going to fight her."

"What?"

"The boss only wants one of you. He wants you two to fight it out. To the death. I can't do anything about that. What I _**can**_ do, is give you this." She handed Julia a pill. "This will imitate death. You beat her and you feed her it without anyone noticing. Can you do that?" Julia nodded her head.

"I can think of a way to do it."

"Good. Once she 'dies' you bring her to me and I'll give her the antidote. This all rides on your acting performance, Julia. If you screw this up, we're all screwed." Julia nodded and smiled kindly at Betrix. She put her hand on Betrix's face.

"Thank you, Betty."


	9. Chapter Eight: Coming Back to Life

**Chapter Eight: Coming Back to Life**

_Death is kind of strange. Well fake death, anyways. It's kind of like a blink, only long after you've woken up, you begin to fill in the gap with your imagination. Maybe it wasn't a blink...maybe it was more like falling asleep. And then a while after that, you beging to make up stories. Was there a bright light? Were there the gates of heaven opening up for you? Maybe it was the fiery pits of hell?_

Satsu tried to stir. She found it difficult to even try to open her eyes. It was like she was paralyzed. She could feel someone next to her, holding her hand. But she didn't know who it was. It wasn't for a long time before she was able to slowly half open them. Everything blurry at first, but she eventually was able to focus on the ceiling above her.

"You're okay," came Julia's voice. _What the hell?_

"Jules?" That was what Satsu was trying to say. What came out was more like a moan.

"Shh," Jules shushed gently, stroking Satsu's hand. She brought it up to her face and kissed it. "I'm so sorry, honey." Satsu could feel tears hitting her hand. _Gross… and also kind of hot_. _She's got really soft lips._ "I didn't mean anything I said out there. I had to make it seem real. They were watching us. And that kiss—well I'm not going to say I'm sorry for kissing you because I'm sure you enjoyed every second of it." Satsu wanted to laugh. She really did, but her paralysis prevented her from laughing. It was the worst feeling in the world, wanting to laugh but can't. "I had to think of a creative way to give you that pill. Faked death for you. And you know—all that sexual tension that's been building up between us has got to have an outlet. It's pretty unhealthy." Again, Satsu couldn't laugh. "I love you so much, Satsu. I hope you know that. You're my best friend in the whole world." _I love you, too. _Satsu could hear a door open somewhere._  
_

"How's she doing?" came Betrix's voice. _Her!_

"She's regained consciousness. I don't think she can move yet though." Julia said. "Betty, thank you so much. You saved her life. _**And**_ mine. I don't know how to repay you." _She saved our lives? Really?_

"You don't have to." Betrix said.

"Can you do anything for Zack and Jane?" Julia asked. _I almost forgot about them!_

"I—honestly I don't know. I might be able to save the girl. I don't know what they're planning to do with the wolf."

"How are you going to save Jane?"

"Buy her." Betrix said. _What?_

"Are human slaves expensive?"

"They carry a hefty price, yes. But don't worry. I'm rich." Julia laughed.

"Hey I know this is a really random question to ask—but how come everyone around here speaks_** English**_. I mean, really? Is English like the demon language or something?" Betrix laughed for a good long while at that. Satsu thought it was pretty strange hearing her laugh. She seemed a lot kinder now than she did before. Her voice was different, too. Smoother…

"No. It's _**one**_ of the languages they speak. They have a lot of English speaking slaves, so it's kind of necessary to be able to speak the tongue."

"That makes sense," Julia said. Satsu felt as if she were regaining some of her mobility. She could clench her hands now.

"Jules," Satsu muttered.

"Satsu," she said. She hurriedly grabbed Satsu's hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. I—I think I can sit up now." Julia helped Satsu sit up on the bed, her back leaning against the wall.

"That's some powerful pill you got there." Satsu said. Her head was ringing. "My head feels like it's been split in two."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. Only thing I knew that would work effectively." Satsu nodded her head.

"Thank you, and _**please**_—if you can save Jane as soon as possible—I'll be in your debt forever."

"Right, I'll get on that right away. You stay and rest. You and Julia can catch up. I'll be back with Jane as soon as I can." Betrix left the room. Julia smiled wide at Satsu and threw herself at her, hopping on top of her.

"God am I glad you're okay!"

"That kind of hurts, Jules." Julia was lying on top of Satsu, her arms around her neck, their faces inches away from each other. Satsu had her arms rested on Julia's lower back. "You gave me a good beating out there." Satsu smiled. They were so close she could count the freckles on Julia's face.

"Yeah, you've improved a lot though, you know that?"

"I learned everything from you, sensei." Satsu joked. To her utter surprise, Julia leaned in and kissed her. It was the most amazing kiss Satsu had ever had in her life. It was like the stars had aligned and the world had stopped spinning, and as clichéd as that sounded it was exactly how Satsu felt. Everything was just perfect. It was a long, passionate kiss, and after Julia had pulled away Satsu could still feel the lingering effects. _I'm in love with her. _Satsu finally opened her eyes. Julia was looking at her as if she was examining her for a reaction. "Wow." Satsu breathed. "You are one hell of a kisser." Julia was blushing as she stroked Satsu's hair.

"I don't know if I'm—you know—like you. Gay." Julia said slowly. "But I think I'm in love you with." Those words were almost too unreal for Satsu to comprehend. It was as if this were a sick dream that someone planted in her head and she would be forced to wake up any moment. Or maybe this is heaven? Maybe she was really dead. Satsu didn't know, but she knew she was happy.

"I think you shouldn't label yourself. You are what you are." Julia nodded at that but she continued to look at Satsu without moving. Satsu chuckled. "I love you too, Julia. Have for a really long time." They kissed again, even more passionately than before. Satsu, however, pulled away.

"What's wrong?" Julia asked. Satsu shook her head.

"Jane. James. Zack." _Way to kill the mood, Satsu. Dumb! But…true. _Julia let out a long sigh and she let her head drop on Satsu's shoulder. Satsu combed her hair absentmindedly.

"Do you love her? Jane?" That wasn't a hard question, but answering would lead to too many unknowns. Satsu didn't answer her and after a long while Julia muttered, "You do don't you?"

"No," Satsu finally answered. "Of course not. I can't get my mind off of _**you**_. But—I care about her. I like her a lot. And I don't want to hurt her."

"You can't say you love _**me**_ and _**not**_ hurt her."

"You're right. And you're right." Satsu let out a long sigh. "Okay—do you love James?" Julia breathed heavily on Satsu. Her breath was so warm it was almost hot.

"I do." She said. That was like a stab in the gut. Satsu wasn't expecting that reply. She took in a sharp breath. "I can't lie to you, Satsu." She said. "But I love you, too."

"You can't do that, Jules. You can't—" Satsu was trying to push her away but Julia held on to her tight.

"I want to be with _**you**_. More than James." Satsu closed her eyes. Things had just gotten way too complicated for her. And on top of that, they were somewhere else. Somewhere she still had no idea about.

"How about we deal with this when we get back home? Okay?" Julia nodded and then looked into Satsu's eyes.

"Can I kiss you again?" Satsu laughed and was about to say no, but looking at Julia's lips all she wanted to do was kiss it. She leaned in and kissed Julia, a quick but meaningful kiss. Julia climbed off the bed and sat down onto a chair next to it. She still held on to Satsu's hand.

"So where are we, Jules?"

"A demon dimension. Betty says that the only way out of here is by opening a portal. She doesn't have clearance for that. She technically is a prisoner here. Only a respected and feared one."

"That's interesting," Satsu said. "So we need to do two things. Find a way to free Zack and find a way to open that portal. Easy enough."

"Oh yeah, really." Julia said sarcastically. She was still holding on the Satsu's hand, with both of hers in fact. She was stroking it with her thumb. Satsu had never known Julia felt so strongly about her. She could feel butterflies in her stomach. That had never happened with Jane before...with _**anyone**_ before. She shook her head. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Satsu pouted. "You're making me go crazy." Julia laughed and kissed the hand that she held prisoner.

"Good, I'm glad."

"Ugh! Enough flirting. You! Bad!" Satsu said with an exaggerated frown. _Focus, Satsu. Focus._

"I'm sorry." Julia said, still holding her hand.

"Well does Betrix have clearance to get into the Cells?" Julia thought for a while then nodded her head.

"I'm pretty sure. She should. I don't see why she wouldn't be able to."

"Good." Satsu said. "We're two slayers...and a werewolf." Both Julia and Satsu laughed at that. "We can team up and take them down. But first we need to get a hold of how to open the portal." Suddenly the door burst open and in came Betrix with Jane. Julia let go of Satsu's hand immediately and stood up. Jane rushed over and jumped onto Satsu and hugged her with all her might.

"Oh, my God! I thought you were dead. I was so scared!" Jane kissed Satsu. From the corner of her eye, Satsu could see Julia looking away.

"Are _**you**_ okay? Are you hurt?" Satsu asked. Jane shook her head.

"No, no I'm not. Betrix filled me in. I was honestly freaking out." Jane said as she rested her head on Satsu's breasts. _Things are __**way**__ too complicated._

"I'm sorry I worried you like that." Satsu said, patting Jane's head. "Is Zack doing okay?"

"He wanted to turn all wolf-like and break out. I convinced him not to. I don't think they'd think twice before killing him."

"Good, I'm proud of you for thinking smart." Satsu said and Jane kissed her again. "Jane, I think this is really awkward for Betrix and Julia."

"I don't mind." Betrix said. Satsu glared at her and Betrix shrugged. "Or not." Jane got off Satsu and onto the chair Julia was on earlier.

"So what next?" Jane asked, looking around from Satsu to Betrix to Julia.

"Satsu has a semi-plan." Julia said with a smile at Satsu.

"Well more of to-do list, really." Satsu said. "Betrix, how do you open the portal?" Betrix shook her hand.

"You're right. That's _**not**_ a plan. Look, if opening the portal is so easy, then I'd have done it years ago."

"You have two Slayers and a werewolf on your side now. We _**can**_ do it. We just need to know how."

"The boss has it. He collects them. Rings that each open a portal to a different dimension. He gives them to his hunters whenever they go on a mission and then he takes it back." It was as if an idea had struck Julia across the head. Her eyes lit up and she smiled wide.

"I'm his hunter." Julia said. "Aren't I?" Betrix nodded.

"Yeah, I guess you are."

"So how do I get to be the one on the mission?"

"Well—actually—and I totally hadn't thought of this—but you _**will**_ be called. Greg and Abu are the two senior Hunters. They would be your training masters. And they usually bring Tuck and Sam with them. You've faced them before. You think you can beat them this time?" Satsu nodded.

"I think you and I can take on three, Jules. Zack might not be strong enough to take down one by himself, but he can distract him long enough for us. We'd take down three and then team up against the last one." Everyone nodded at this.

"I have a—favor to ask." Betrix said.

"What is it?" Satsu asked.

"Amelia the Connector—she's an innocent girl who's been forced to do their dirty work just like I was. If we escape—I want to bring her with us. Her powers can be of use to you and—"

"The more people we bring, the more dangerous the mission becomes." Julia said, and rightly so.

"_**But**_ you have helped us more than we can ever repay you for, so of course we'll help Amelia."

_So that was my big idea. The plan. As Betrix had said, Julia was called to meet "the boss" and we waited. Betrix had the master key to unlock the Cells and she gave that me. So this is what happened. As Julia, Greg, and his gang opens the portal, I busted out Zack. Jane would be Betrix and Amelia, who would have been picked up before my break in to the Cell. Thing is, the portal would close after the person with the ring goes in, so I needed to keep Greg occupied until everyone goes in. Then, I'd drag him in after me and close the portal…_

"Hurry up, Zack!" Satsu hissed. She locked the door behind her. She couldn't let these demons that were being held prisoner go to earth, too, even if they were innocent. They were probably just as blood thirsty as any demons.

"I thought you were dead!" Zack yelled, hugging Satsu. "What the hell?"

"I'll explain everything later? We got to go _**now**_!" Satsu and Zack broke and ran. They got to the portal just as Greg was about to go in. "You get into that portal, you hear? I'll grab Greg. Go!" Satsu ran forward and tackled Greg before he could get through the portal. Zack ran in as Satsu pounded Greg to a pulp. Jane, Betrix, and Amelia ran passed her and they entered the portal, as well. Satsu grabbed the beaten Greg and she backed herself into the portal.

They arrived at the back alley of the theater. It was nighttime and rain was pouring down on them. Satsu could see werewolf Zack fighting Tuck and Julia getting beaten by Abu and Sam. Satsu tossed Greg and Sam caught him. She rushed over and kicked Abu.

"You okay, Jules?" Satsu reached out her hand and helped Julia up.

"Will be after we kill these guys." Everything went according to their plan. Two Slayers against the three demons was much easier than one against two. They killed Greg first, because had been hurt pretty badly by Satsu. Sam was next and Abu was admittedly harder to kill then Satsu had imagined. He, too, had his neck ripped clean off, however. Zack was going toe-to-toe with Tuck and Satsu would've let him go on if she thought he could win. Thing was, even though they were about the same in strength and speed, Tuck wouldn't have gotten tired. That was a little tip Betrix and told them. Their such great hunters because their species never got tired. Zack on the other hand, was getting weaker with every passing second.

With Tuck dead, the battle was won. Satsu picked up the ring and placed it in her pocket. The battle was over. They were home. Satsu surveyed her friends. Betrix was sitting on a curb with her head in her hands, weeping with the joy of returning home. Amelia was next to her, holding her arm. Jane was helping Zack sit down. Julia was leaning against a wall, panting, sweating, wet, and extremely sexy. Taking in a deep breath, and knowing that it was probably going to be the worst, meanest, bitchiest, stupidest thing she'd ever do, Satsu grabbed her, leaned her backwards and in front of her girlfriend, her best friend, pretty much everyone, Satsu kissed Julia in the rain.


	10. Chapter Nine: Will You Be Mine?

**Chapter Nine: Will You Be Mine?**

_It was strange, seeing these people, their problems, loves, and hates, shining through their fake exterior. The girl who seemed to be the leader of the group was kissing another girl and I could tell they were in love. Both the werewolf and the girl helping him looked hurt, confused, and shocked at this. For a split second, everyone was real. No one was pretending because no one __**could**__ pretend. See I'm a Connector, but although I can connect one person to another, I can't seem to connect to people in a deeper sense. I am forever confused and baffled by their fake and unnecessarily contradictory actions. I have never understood anyone and could never get close to them. The only time I feel like I truly get a glimpse of who people really are is in those moments when their true self, their true, unfiltered, unaltered, raw emotions shine through their shells. The leader they called Satsu seemed the most open to her emotions. She initiated the kiss that she obviously had wanted to do for a long time. _

Satsu and Julia continued to kiss despite the fact that everyone was staring at them. Zack and Jane continued to stare as if they were too dumbstruck to think. Betrix was the only one that was smiling.

"That, I did not see coming, Amy." She said, hugging her.

_Betrix was probably the single, kindest person to have entered my life. Greg's gang had killed my parents. Greg's and my species had been rivals for centuries until Greg joined with the Boss to build an army. They entered my dimension a few years ago and wiped out every single on of my kind…except four of us. We were only children, and so Greg grabbed us and brought us before his master. His master, seeing the use in us, had us trained to work for him. Joss, Abram, and Karen were all older than me and quickly assimilated into their society, taking pride in the capture and trade of living, breathing, thinking beings. I probably would have too, if it weren't for Betrix. Upon seeing me, she immediately pulled me to the side and had a talk with me. She told me that I needed to stay strong, that one day she'll help me escape and that I needed to stay good. She said she could see the goodness in me and that she never wanted to see it fade. And she kept all her promises. She did help me escape. She rescued me. She was my hero._

When Satsu and Julia had stopped kissing, the mood of the place had changed. Jane seemed to not want to face the truth of the matter and she was the first to revert back to her fake shell.

"You okay, Zack? You break anything?" she asked, purposefully avoiding to look over at Satsu's direction. Zack nodded his head and then he put on his shirt.

"I'll be fine. _**You**_?" Zack, too, was avoiding the two Slayers. Jane gave him a half shrug, half shake of the head. Amy couldn't tell what that meant, but she supposed Jane looked pretty distraught, even if she was trying to hide it. Jane tapped Zack's hand a few times and then started walking away. Zack looked over at Betrix and Amy with a frown. "Jane and I are going to head to the car. She," Zack pointed over towards Satsu's direction without looking. "can show you guys where it is when they're done. I'm going to go make sure Jane's okay." He rushed off after Jane.

"That was uh—" Betrix was still smiling. Apparently, she found all this amusing. "Quite a show the two of you put on there." The rain had stopped pouring and both Satsu and Julia were dripping wet. They both laughed but it quickly faded as they both looked over to where Zack and Jane had been before.

"Young love," Betrix said with a sigh, and she stood up. She took Amy's hand and helped her up. "So what now?" Julia shook her head and shrugged and she looked over at Satsu.

"You have a place to stay at, Betrix?" Satsu asked. Betrix nodded her head with a frown.

"Amy and I can stay with my parents." Betrix suggested.

"Okay,"

* * *

_I really didn't know why it was so hard for me just to admit it to myself. I mean, it wasn't like I hadn't seen it coming. The way they looked at each other. The way their eyes would meet when one of them said something funny. It made me sick thinking about how much Satsu just didn't care. We arrived at Betrix's parent's house and Satsu handed her their phone number. The whole ride back there was no talking. Satsu acted as if I weren't even there. The least that I deserved was some sort of recognition at what she had done. We dropped off Julia and Satsu told Zack she wanted to stay with Julia and that she'd walk home later. _

Jane shifted angrily in her seat. She had so much pent up anger building up inside of her that she didn't know how to let it out. Zack looked over at her for a second and then back at the rode in front of them. They arrived at Jane's house and she unbuckled her seat-belt, but made no attempt to open the door. She groaned and leaned her head back against the backrest.

"I'm sorry," Zack said with a frown. "I don't know what Satsu was thinking. That shouldn't have happened."

"It isn't your fault. I don't know..." She closed her eyes and sighed. "Well anyways, thanks for everything. I'll see you around or something Zack." Jane reached to open the door but Zack grabbed her arm.

"You're still going to hang out with us." Zack said and then he paused. "Well at least me."

"Yeah, sure." Jane said although she knew she didn't mean it.

"I'm serious, Jane. You're my friend. You're the only sane person out of this whole group. I _**need**_ you."

"We only became friends because of Satsu, Zack. Why would you want to hang out with me now—?"

"The way we became friends doesn't matter. It doesnt mean that I don't care about you. I do. You're a good friend and I want you around. Okay?" _Zack was truly a good, caring guy, and for the life of me I can't understand why Julia would go gay instead of going for Zack. _

"Thank you," Jane said, hugging him. "I care about you too, Zack."

"Good," Zack said. "I think I'd explode if I had to be around those two, a demon, and a torturer all day."

"Yeah, well, just so you know—I'm not turning straight like how Julia turned gay." The two of them laughed together, still in embrace.

* * *

_I sat down in my room and stared at the ground in front of me. Satsu sat down next to me but didn't say anything. We just sat there for a long time in silence before Satsu finally put a hand on my shoulder. I looked over and she brushed my hair under my ear. She leaned in and kissed me and I could smell her addicting scent. I kissed her back. After a long time of our lips gently stroking each other's, we stood up and Satsu pushed me hard against the wall. I lifted my leg and she ran her hand along my jeans and under my shirt. My breath began to grow uneven and I let out a shaking sigh as she nibbled my ear. _

Satsu lifted Julia's shirt off and kissed her neck. Julia moaned at Satsu ran her fingers along her arms. "Oh, that feels good." Julia's senses were heightened as Satsu rubbed her fingers along Julia's smooth skin.

"I want you so bad." Julia breathed as Satsu kissed her neck. Satsu reached her hands behind Julia's back and unhooked her bra. It fell down onto the ground. Satsu placed her hands on Julia's breasts, massaging them gently. She lowered her face and sucked on one of them. "_**God**_," Julia grabbed Satsu's hair behind her head and took in sharp, shaking breaths. Unbuttoning Julia's jeans, Satsu slipped her hand in and began rubbing her fingers gently up and down, back and forth. Julia could feel the pleasure surge throughout her body. She pulled down her jeans along with her underwear and Satsu picked her up, throwing her onto her bed. She jumped on top of her and continued kissing her. It was the most exhilarating thing Julia had ever felt in her life as Satsu's mouth worked between her legs.

"You taste sweet," Satsu murmured.

"Your turn." Julia said pulling Satsu's shirt over her head. "You are so hot." Laughed Julia. "And really good at this."

"Oh, you have no idea." Julia unbutton Satsu's jeans and Satsu kicked them off.

"I love you so much." Julia said kissing Satsu anywhere she could. Julia had never meant it as much as she did that day while they made love. She loved Satsu will all her being.

"I love you, too." Satsu breathed licking Julia's lips instead of kissing them. "And I want you just as much."

* * *

_So interesting fact, I'm not mad. Well, I guess I have no right to be mad. I was nothing…just a guy in their lesbian love triangle. See, thing was, I always thought that if I stuck around long enough, past James, past all her popular boyfriends, that one day Julia would look at me the way I saw her looking at Satsu today. I loved her since I've met her, but she's never loved me. And today was the day that I realized she was never, ever going to love me. Even if I was the last man on earth, she wouldn't love me…she'd rather love a girl. Don't get me wrong; I've got nothing wrong with some girl on girl action. Seeing them kiss didn't hurt me the way it did when she kissed other guys. It hurt me in a twisted, incomprehensible way. I felt betrayed. I felt alone. I felt left out. But enough with me whining. Enough with me waiting around for things to go my way. Enough with me being in love with Julia. I'm going to take a stand. I'm going to find myself a decent girl that would treat me right._

Zack sat down on the small chair and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked sad. He ran his hand through his long hair one last time before looking up at the barber.

"Buzz it." He said. The barber ran the clip through his hair and when he got out of the place, he felt like a new man. He opened his car and his phone rang. It was Satsu. "Hello?" he answered.

"Hey, Zack. It's really late. Do you mind picking me up? I really don't want to walk home this late. I'm ready to crash." Zack really wanted to say no. He wanted to go home and shower and go to sleep, but he wasn't about to make Satsu walk home.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be there right away." Zack's car rolled up onto Julia's driveway and Satsu slipped in. Zack didn't say anything and neither did Satsu. Zack backed out and continued driving. Five minutes on the road, Satsu turned off the radio.

"Zack," she finally said. Zack didn't reply. _What the hell do you want me to say?_ "I'm really sorry." She said. _For what? Kissing her in front of me? You shouldn't be apologizing to me. You're talking to the wrong person._

"Oh," Zack said. He didn't like treating her that way, but he honestly didn't know what to say to her. Was he mad at her? Of course he was. Was he going to get over it? Yeah. So what can he say?

"Zack, stop the car."

"What?"

"Stop the car!" Zack pulled over to the curb and turned off the engine.

"What the hell, Satsu?"

"Tell me how I can make this right. Tell me how to make it right between us, Zack."

"I'm not the one you need to make it right with, Satsu." Zack said, not looking at her. "Maybe you should direct your attention elsewhere. I'm mad at you. I feel betrayed. I do. I don't trust you. And I'm hurt. All that is true. But am I going to get over it eventually? Yes, of course I am. And I'll forgive you. But Jane might not." Zack finally found the courage to look at her. "She cares about you, you know? A lot. And she's confused. Hurt. I mean what the hell were you thinking, kissing Julia in front of her? It's like you care so little about how she feels that you didn't even need to hide that you were cheating on her."

"It's not like that!" Satsu said, on the verge of tears. "That's not what I meant to do."

"Well that's what you did, Satsu! Okay? You acted like a selfish little brat, and you hurt her. You hurt her, Satsu. Do you even understand that? And you're acting like her feelings don't matter. Like she doesn't even deserve an explanation for what you've done. When she thought you were dead she wept on my shoulders for hours. She was distraught at the thought of losing you. She's an amazing girl and a great friend and you're going to be losing someone really special if you let her go. And you're going to regret it something _**fierce**_, Satsu." Satsu was crying now, sniffing in the darkness.

"I know, I know!" She inhaled through her nostrils. "But I want us to be okay. I betrayed you. I knew you loved Julia and I should've said something."

"You're right, you should have. You did something terrible Satsu, and it hurt me. But as much as it _**does **_suck for me, I can't even begin to imagine how Jane feels right now. Apologize to her, Satsu. It's the least you can do."

* * *

_School was back in session the next day. Julia broke up with James and she told me that she wanted our relationship to be out in the open. So it was. We held hands, we kissed in the hallway, and we did all sorts of naughty things in the janitor's closet. Julia and I were walking down the hall after school ended, with our hands interlocked, when we bumped into Jane and Zack. It was the single, most uncomfortable instance I had ever had. Our eyes shifted from one person to the next, each of us having our own little dramas with one another. It was like one of those high school television shows. And I've always hated those._

"Can I talk to you?" Satsu asked. Jane nodded and just when they were about to leave to talk Satsu heard someone screaming. The four of them rushed to the girl that was screaming her lungs off and they found it. A cold, dead body that was drained of all its blood. It was James. They looked at one another, unable to speak. And then someone bumped into Julia. None of them could see who it was. The person had handed her a white envelope with her name written in fancy letters on it. She opened it and there was a single piece of paper inside with the words: __

_**Will you be mine? - Valentine**_


	11. Chapter Ten: A Midnight Visit

**Chapter Ten: A Midnight Visit**

"That doesn't even sound right." Satsu said angrily.

"I think that was meant to be funny," Zack said reading the note again.

"Nothing funny about my ex getting killed, Zack." Julia said angrily.

"Nothing funny about someone giving my girl a message like that." Satsu added. Her eyes met with Jane's for a split second.

"So you guys have no idea who this 'Valentine' person is?" Betrix asked from the other side of the room.

"Nope," Julia replied.

"He clearly knows you. You don't have any idea at all?"

"No! I mean—I have a stalker…I didn't stalk _**him**_. Or her. I don't even know." Julia covered her face and sighed. Amy tugged on Betrix's arm.

"What is it, Amy?" Betrix asked the little girl. The girl was sitting on her bed in human clothes. It was a sight to see.

"I—can connect her." She said. Betrix nodded and looked over at Julia.

"I don't think she's ever done non-specific connections before, but it's worth a shot." She said. "Give her the note. It might help her." Zack handed Amy the note and reached out her hand. Julia took it. "Close your eyes." Betrix told her. Julia closed her eyes as Amelia the Connector's flashed bright.

"You are connected." Said Amy. After a long while Julia began shaking uncontrollably, gasping for air.

"Disconnect! Amy! Disconnect!" Betrix yelled. Amy's eyes dimmed and she let go of Julia's arm just as she began to fall. Satsu caught her.

"Jules. You okay?" Satsu helped Julia onto the bed.

"I didn't—I didn't talk to the person. But I know who it is. I felt—emotions, thoughts, images. It was the vampire that attacked us."

"_**The**_ vampire that attacked up?" Zack asked with wide-eyes. "Oh, am I glad he's back. I've been needing someone to pound." Zack cracked his knuckles with a smile on his face.

"He killed James…" Julia muttered. "Drained him just because he thought it would be fun to. Because it would get my attention…" Satsu pressed Julia's head against her, kissing her forehead.

"Shh," she gently ran her fingers through Julia's hair. "It'll be okay."

"Well," Zack said licking his lips. "I think I'm going to go hunt this thing down. Any idea where he's at, Julia?" Zack asked. The softness that once was in his voice every time he spoke her name...was gone.

"No, not exactly. I think he lives close to the cemetery, though. You really shouldn't go by yourself."

"What? Think I can't take on a stupid vampire?" Zack asked defensively.

"He's got enhanced powers. He's had my blood." Julia told him. "He beat you once."

"Yeah, I remember that. But I'm not going to let him do this to anyone else. I need to stop him."

"I'll go with Zack. I'll make sure its pure reconnaissance." Jane said to no one in particular. She was obviously trying hard to avoid any communication with Satsu.

"Okay, and Zack," Satsu said sternly. "Keep her safe."

* * *

_"Keep her safe". She didn't need to tell me that. Of course I'd keep Jane safe. I'd keep her safe with my life. _

Zack walked slowly, sniffing the air. Jane looked over at him, interested in his unusual behavior. It was the first time that she had seen him use his uncanny smelling abilities to track anyone. It was interesting, how fast she had seemed to accept monsters, demons, and vampires. For him it was different, he had grown up with them until his new parents took him in. That was probably the happiest day of his life.

"So you can smell things," Jane said with a smile. "Impressive…but uh—what are you smelling for, exactly?"

"Well," Zack said. He sniffed again and then continued, "I've fought the guy before. I remember his scent. I don't forget scents easily. A gift from my wolf half. So now that we know who we're dealing with, I just need to sniff the guy out." Jane nodded her head and the two of them continued walking through the woods.

"Anything?" Jane asked after a few minutes. Zack shook his head. "You're not going to turn when you find him right?"

"Of course not." Zack said with a smile. "With you here, I'm not going to do anything hasty. Don't worry. Purely recon, Jane." He winked at her.

"I like your haircut, by the way. I'm sure no one's mentioned it with everything going on, but it's a good look on you. Makes you look tough, you know?" Zack smiled and put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in, giving her a side-hug.

"Thanks, Jane." He said and then he stopped dead. "I smell him. It reeks of him here." Zack knew his eyes were turning black and the savageness in him surface. He had to fight every cell in his body from turning. "This way." The two of them proceeded through a clearing and then turned right, deeper into the woods. Zack broke into a run, leaving behind Jane. He reached the place where the smell lingered the most. There was a drained body…of someone he knew. Zack threw himself at the body, terrified. Jane finally caught up to him and stood a few feet behind him.

"Drained too…" she muttered. Zack was in shock and awe as he stared into the lifeless face. "There's a note." Jane said, reaching past Zack and picking up the envelope that laid next to the body. "It's for…_**you**_." Zack didn't respond. He couldn't. Jane opened the letter. "It says: 'Back off or you'll be next. – Valentine' Zack—are you okay?" She placed a hand on his shoulder and he spun around, half transformed as tears ran down from his pitch black eyes. "Zack!" Jane took his hand into hers and he slowly reverted back into his human self. "What's going on? Do you know him?" Zack nodded his head and he threw himself at her, hugging her tight.

"That's my brother. He's my little brother, Jane."

* * *

"Zack just called me," Satsu said to Julia as they sat in her bed. Julia's head was resting on Satsu's lap.

"What'd he say?"

"He found another body. Same MO."

"There was a letter for me?"

"No, for him this time. The body was his brother. The letter warned him to back off."

"Zack doesn't have a brother." Julia said, quite certain of herself.

"He does from his wolf family. The kid's name is Tyler. He was only fourteen."

"Poor kid," Julia said as she absent mindedly stroked Satsu's thigh. "We need to find him before he hurts anyone else, Satsu."

"I know."

"So let's go."

"No, I want you to stay in bed. The guy has it out for _**you**_. I need to know you're safe."

"He's a stupid vamp."

"He's a stupid vamp hopped up on Slayer blood. Just—can you please stay here? For me?" Julia sat up so that she was face level with Satsu.

"I can take care of myself. Hell—I can do a lot more than take care of myself."

"I know that, babe—"

"'Babe'?" Julia smiled. "You're so cute." She kissed Satsu tenderly. "I can help you. I don't want to sit around."

"Please," Satsu said again.

"Oh fine. But only if you call me babe again." Julia joked as she ran her thumb across Satsu's cheek.

"Please, babe?"

"Okay, now take off all your clothes, _**babe**_." Julia climbed on top of Satsu.

"Jules! Not now. I gotta go find a killer! C'mon." Satsu made a few weak attempts to push Julia off but eventually gave in. "Ahh, screw it." She flipped around so that she was now on top of Julia.

"No—screw _**me**_."

* * *

"Amy? Amy! Amelia!" Betrix ran from one room to the next in a failed attempt to find the kid. Panic arose as she looked around in the kitchen. "Amelia!" she threw open the front door to look outside at the chilling night. There was a figure on the other side of street and in a split second he was in front of her.

"You must be, Betty." The man said, raising her hand to his lips and kissing it. "An honor to meet you. You really came you of no where, you know that?" Betrix looked into his cold, empty, lifeless eyes and shuttered. It was horrific.

"Where' s Amy?" Betrix asked sternly. The man smiled.

"Very impolite of you not to ask for my name."

"You never asked for mine." Betrix rebutted. The man laughed and clapped his hands together.

"I like you. I mean much, much more than the other friends my girl keeps around. My name is Valentine."

"Your girl?"

"Julia Maze, of course. My beautiful, beautiful girl."

"You're sick."

"I prefer evil, if you don't mind." Valentine smiled, showing his perfect set of teeth. "And diabolical. See, I can't go into the house, but I can trick you to come out." He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her against the walls outside her house. She could feel her spine ready to break. "I could kill you right now like the insignificant insect you are, but you're important to Julia. I can tell. You know, I had a whole plan laid out. And then came you and that little demon girl—and it just threw a big wrench into all of it. But I learn to adapt. So you'll get one, too. Don't worry. You all will get a lovely card along with your present. Ta, ta, for now." Valentine kissed her on the cheek and began walking again. Betrix stood in complete terror.

"Where…is Amy?"

"Oh, she's fine. I had a little chat with her through her window. She's hiding in the closet."

* * *

_So after my umm…sidetrack…with Julia, which was __**amazing**__,_ _I went into the woods to look for Zack and Jane. Zack said that he wanted to stay with his brother a little longer and I decided it was best that I came to help them out. And I was beginning to grow weary of Valentine's games. Betrix called me and told me about her run in with him. I told her and Amy to not leave the house at any cost. It was too dangerous, and this psycho shows signs of being a serious sociopath. He was probably one before he even became a soulless bloodsucker!_

Satsu stopped and looked around at the tall trees. Everything looked the same around there. She couldn't tell if she had walked past this place before. She was lost. Sighing, she continued to walk. After a few turns she found a body a distance away. She was making her way to it when she heard a movement. She ran after it and when she thought she was close enough she jumped and tackled it. It threw her and she soared in the air, hitting a giant tree and bounced off. She landed on her feet.

"_**You**_!" Satsu yelled. "You're Valentine!"

"You weren't supposed to see me yet." Valentine said, his vampire face turning back to normal. "But I guess now's as good of a time as any. Hi, Satsu. I'm—"

"Valentine. I think you've made a big enough of an impression for me to remember your name."

"Well I'm glad I made an impression. You know, Satsu, of all of the people Julia surrounds herself with, you surprise me the most."

"I'm glad I surprise you."

"See, at first, I thought you were just a gay."

"'A gay'?"

"And you're not exceptionally pretty or anything. I mean what with those weird eyes and relatively small boobs."

"Thank you for the racism. I really couldn't have gone through my day without that—and the homophobia. My God, no wonder you have to resort to stalking."

"But then I find out _**you're**_ a Slayer, too. And _**then**_ I find out—you're sleeping with my girl." His voice became ice cold as he spoke those last words. He wanted to kill her right then and there. She could feel it. He was jealous that she had had sex with Julia.

"You were watching?" Satsu asked, disgusted.

"Oh, every agonizing second of it." He said. "I wanted to rip your head off!"

"She tastes _**so**_ good." Satsu said. Getting him mad might give her some sort of advantage…then again it might just make him hate her just enough to rip her to shreds. Either way, it was fun taunting the man that was trying to taunt you. "I mean it's really not a taste I'm going to forget. Oh, forgot, I don't have to. I get to any time I want." Anger flashed through his face and she thought he was ready to launch at her, but then he took in a deep breath, although he obviously didn't breath, and smiled at her.

"I would feast on your blood right now, Slayer, but that would be a complete waste of the present I got for you. Go, take a look."

"For—me?" Satsu's heart thumped in her chest as her mind ran through the many possible people I could be. She turned and ran towards the body and when she got there she saw it. Her father. "D-dad? Dad?" Satsu shook his cold body and tears began to swell in her eyes. "Dad…" Satsu stood up and turned to face her father's killer, but he had already gone.

* * *

Julia stirred restlessly in Satsu's bed. She couldn't sleep. She sat up and left the room and went into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator but there was nothing inside. Then, there was a light tap on the front door. Then another tap. Julia opened it to find him—Valentine.

"Hello, my darling." Valentine said with a wide smile. "May I come in?"

"Hell no." Julia replied.

"All of you are so rude. But I forgive you—because I love you."

"Shut up. You can't love someone you don't know."

"Oh, I know a good many things about you, beautiful."

"Why the hell are you doing all this?"

"Come outside and we'll talk."

"Chance in hell, vamp."

"Oh, no. I'm not going to hurt _**you**_. I might hurt those people you call friends if they don't stop meddling, but I'm never going to hurt _**you**_—unless you ask me to."

"What?"

"Please, come outside." Despite her better judgment, Julia stepped out of the house and he smiled. "Thank you." He examined her face under the moonlight and lifted his hand. She flinched but he continued to slowly raise it and touched her face. "You are the most beautiful being I had ever laid my unworthy eyes on." _He actually, despite the fact that he was a creepy, stalking, psychopathic vampire, wasn't bad looking himself. _

"You're crazy."

"I might actually be crazy—for you." _Cheesy much?_

"What do you want, Valentine?"

"Is that even a question, love?"

"What do you want specifically? From _**me**_."

"Nothing. I came here today just to be able to talk to you."

"Vamps don't want to just talk to Slayers. That's not how it goes."

"One day—maybe long from now, maybe sooner—you're going to come to me and you're going to make love to me. And then you're going to ask me to turn you. And I _**will**_." _What the fuck?_

"Are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm not." He kissed her and she didn't move away. "One day. And don't worry—" he said whispering into her ears. "I won't say 'I told you so'."


	12. Blood Soaked

**Blood Soaked  
**

"Zack," Jane said squatting down next to him. "I'm so sorry." She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly. Zack was taking in sharp, shallow breaths. He hadn't seen his little brother for a long time. He never had the chance to tell him how sorry he was.

"Thank you, Jane." He said and the two of them stood up. "Satsu's on her way here." He said looking down at the body. Jane nodded, not commenting on the matter—as much as she probably didn't want to see Satsu.

"I haven't seen him in years." Zack said with tears in his eyes. "He was still a little kid the last time I saw him." Zack was smiling at the memory of his little brother, the only member of his old "family" that he ever cared about. No, that wasn't true. There was his little sister, too…

"I don't mean to impose—but if you want to talk about it—I'm here for you, Zack." Zack turned to look at her and he gave her the kindest smile he could muster.

"I do want to talk about it." Jane indicated a tree near by and she took his hand, leading him to it. They sat down and she held on to his arm, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Tell me."

_**Three Years Ago:**_

_"My family members were never good people. My dad was a big thug and mom used her sex appeal to get whatever she wanted. They were con artists, robbers, and murderers. And what made it worst was that they had my brothers and sisters join in. I was their second child, five years younger than my older sister. They named me Wolfram. They said it was some sort of tribute to a law firm that gave them our lives. We owed them everything they told me. I've never even heard from them all my life, but that was my name. Wolfram. I hated the name because it reminded me of who I was...who I was every time the full moon came up. My parents...they loved the full moon. They __**lived**__ for the full moon. See my parents loved violence. It was built in their blood. They would purposefully find the most busy places on full moons and just turn and massacred hundreds of people—for fun. When I turned eight they brought me along with them on my very first massacre. My sister, Sophie, told me that I was going to be so fun. I couldn't remember anything…but as the years went by, I started to. And then I started to feel it even when I'm not turned. The violence. The anger. The hatred. The bloodlust. Okay, let me back up a little here. Even my "real" parents aren't my biological ones. I don't know who my biological parents are. My parents bought me and all my siblings. I had two younger siblings. Anne was three years younger than me, and Tyler was five years younger. I loved the two of them—they weren't like my parents and Sophie. They didn't love the killing. They were like me. But we did as we were told…"_

Fifteen-years-old Wolfram's long hair was swaying in front of his face as he smiled at his beautiful older sister. He admired her, her courage, her love for what they did. She was a very pretty girl, with her dark red hair and her pale skin. Although Wolfram called her sister, he almost never saw her. Most of the time she was off doing her own killings and living her own life. The only time she stayed with their parents was when they called her and told her there would be a big heist of sorts and they needed an extra hand. So naturally, Wolfram never looked at her as much of a sister, especially since they didn't share the same blood. Sophie extended her hand and Wolfram held it.

"You ready, kid?" She asked. Wolfram nodded his head. He never felt right doing this, but he knew that this was what their parents wanted. The reason he admired his sister so much was because of the ease at which these type of things seemed to come to her. If he could do it without feeling guilty all the time, he might actually be loved almost as much as his parents loved Sophie. "Okay then, here it comes." The two of them began turning and everything went black. No…that was a lie that he told himself. Things didn't get black, they went dim. He could feel the lust for blood, the howling anger, the need to kill, all of it building up inside of him exploding out into the surface.

Wolfram could remember only the cries of the people, the blood that soaked his fur, and the taste of human flesh. When he woke up he was laying naked next to Sophie. She was in his arms. Wolfram coughed and she stirred, waking up.

"Oh," she said. "Morning, honey." She smiled flirtatiously and combed back his long black hair. "That felt _**amazing**_! God! I haven't had that good of a night in awhile." She sat up and examined his naked body. "Bet you had a wonderful night, too, didn't you? Oh, well. What happens as a werewolf stays with the werewolf." She sat up and looked around the woods. "You did remember to hide extra clothes here for yourself right?" Wolfram sat up and stared at his sister. What the hell happened that night? "Oh stop being such a prude. It's not like we're actually related. I mean it _**is **_pretty gross but I've wiped it out of my memory." She walked over to a bush and pulled out her clothes, putting them on. "You lost your voice or something, kid?"

"N-no. I—um—do you mind getting me my clothes? They're over—" Sophie walked over and grabbed Wolfram's clothes.

"Catch," she said, throwing it at him. The two of them got dressed and walked back to their parent's house. Their parents were already up cooking.

"Hey, kids. I heard about the massacre on the news. Very good job there. Did you guys have fun?" Their mom asked.

"Oh, Wolfie here had a little _**too**_ much fun with me." She said, grabbing a plate. "He might actually be a good werewolf, yet." She threw a few bacons onto her plate and sat down.

"Well, Wolfram, you want to take out the kids tonight? We still have one night left. Your father and I were thinking that we could go do something big. Something that'll quench our thirst. Sophie, dear, you could come along too." Sophie nodded.

"Sure, sounds like fun."

"So you want to take the two other kids out tonight, Wolfram?" Wolfram didn't say anything for a long time. He hadn't developed _**complete**_ control over his wolf form yet. He didn't know if he was ready.

"He'd love to, Mom." Sophie said getting up and standing next to him. He opened his mouth to protest but she placed a finger on his lips. "Be good and I'll give you a treat tomorrow night." She kissed him on the forehead, her breasts on pressing against his face. "You know what I mean." She gave him a wink and walked back to her table. His parents exchanged looks but didn't say anything.

"Cooper," is mother said to his father. "You want to tell the children or should I?"

"You tell them." Cooper said, looking at his watch. "I'm really excited for this, babe." He said kissing her.

That afternoon, Wolfram took his two younger siblings out into town. Anne was in a happy mood that night, but Tyler was silent as usual. Anne was hoping up and down, exclaiming about how the boy she liked told her the other day he liked her back.

"Annie," Wolfram said, sternly. "You're too young to be dating."

"I don't even know what the word dating means." Anne said, pouting. "But you can't tell me you didn't like anyone when you were my age."

"At twelve? I can't remember that far back." Wolfram lied, looking at his watch.

"Stop being mean, Wolf." Anne said looking back at Tyler. "What'd you do today, Tye?"

"Nothing," Tyler said as they walked. He had his hands in his jeans and looked extremely upset.

"Something wrong, Tye?" Wolfram asked. Tyler was a short kid, almost half a head shorter than Anne was. Anne was decent in height for her age and had skin as white as snow. She had long, flowing blonde hair and about the brightest smile anyone could imagine. She was Wolfram's favorite out of the family. He loved her as if she _**were**_ his little sister. Tyler was the runt, but he was a fierce and scary fighter when he turned. The two of them knew little about their transformations. They knew that their family was different that that they were scoundrels, but that was as much as they knew. Tyler, like their eldest sister Sophie, had red hair. He had tons of freckles on his face. He was a good kid and Wolfram always looked out for him when he could. Sophie, on the other hand, as much as he was attracted to her and admired her, scared the living daylights out of him.

"I don't like nights when there's the full moon." Tyler said looking at the ground. "Weird things happen. I always wake up naked." Anne frowned and looked up at Wolfram.

"He's right. Mom and Dad say we transform but they said we're too young to know what that means."

"Oh, they don't think you're too young." Wolfram said. "If they did they wouldn't tell you at all. They just don't have the time to explain it to you guys yet since they're so busy robbing people lately. And Sophie—" he naked image flashed in his mind. He shook his head. "She's busy, too. And _**I'm**_ too young to explain it to you guys. So you're just going to have to wait. They explained it to me when I was about your age, Tye. They've just haven't found the time is all."

"Then you can explain it." Anne said, tugging at his hand. Wolfram shook his head.

"Not happening." He said patting her head. "Maybe some other night. Tonight—" Wolfram looked up at the sky. It was getting dark. "We're going to make our parents proud."

"How's that?" Anne asked.

"Annie?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you and I'm sorry."

"For what?" But before Wolfram could answer they were turning. That night, Wolfram remembered everything clearly. He remembered killing people. It was like he was looking at the world through someone else's eyes, in gory detail. He could also feel the warmth of blood on his hands. He could taste it in his mouth. But then, something happened. Something he hadn't expected. There were people fighting back—with guns. Wolfram saw in front of his eyes, Anne in her wolf form, get shot in the heart. She fell onto the ground and turned back into the little girl she was. Someone yelled.

"She's a kid!" it was a woman. "You idiot! These are kids!" the woman hit the man that had shot. "I told you we should've used tranqs! Get out your tranq guns!" He remember seeing Tyler run into the night as Wolfrom got shot by about ten different darts. He fell unconscious.

When Wolfram woke up he was in a bed. There were several people around him including a beautiful woman in her late twenties or early thirties. She helped him sit up and handed him a cup of water.

"You okay, son?" the woman asked. Everyone else looked a bit touchy. They looked down at him like he was something disgusting.

"I—what happened?" Wolfram asked.

"My name is Lilly. This is my husband, Thomas." Wolfram nodded his head and looked around the room again. "What's your name?"

"Um—I'm Wolfram."

"Oh," she said, taking the empty class of water from him. "Does it mean anything?"

"Um—my parents told me that it's an homage to some law firm."

"Are your parents—like you?" Wolfram nodded his head at first and then shook his head.

"They're—thieves. Robbers. Bad people." Wolfram admitted.

"Would you like to get away from them?" Lilly asked. "Maybe come live with us?" Wolfram thought about it for a few seconds before slowly nodding his head. All the killing, all the murders, it would all be gone.

"Yes," he murmured.

"Okay, Wolfram. Maybe we can take you in—if you promise us that you won't follow in your parent's footsteps."

"What are you doing, Lilly?" asked a man.

"Shut up." Thomas said to him cautiously. The man backed down.

"Yes. I promise."

"Good."

"And if it's okay with you, maybe Wolfram isn't such a good name to keep. We know that law firm. They're not good people." Thomas said, looking over at Lilly.

"That's okay. I don't care."

"Lilly and I have been trying to conceive a child but we haven't been able to." Thomas said. "Lilly already has a name in mind for one of it was a boy."

"Zack," she said to Wolfram. "We can call you Zack."

_**Present:**_

"They took me in and we moved here. They renounced their wolf hunting and gave me a normal life. I met Julia and Satsu and tried to hide it from everyone for three years and—now everyone knows." Zack smiled weakly at her. He's never told anyone this story before. He had mentioned to Satsu earlier in the phone call that Tyler was his younger brother from his previous life…but he had never shared his true history with anyone.

"It sounds like a horrible way to grow up." Jane said. "And I'm really sorry about your sister."

"Thank you." Zack said. "I never got to tell Tyler how sorry I was for bringing him out there that night. I should've just lied to my parents and locked us up in cages. I knew what they were doing was wrong—but I kept going along with it. I'm as bad as Sophie."

"No, you're not. What happened with Anne and Tyler wasn't your fault. And Sophie—sounds like a disgusting person. I can't even believe what she did to you. That's just _**wrong**_." Jane put both her hands on his face and looked him deep in the eyes. "You deserve better. Better than them. Better than Satsu and Julia. And I'm glad that Lilly and Thomas found you because if not I wouldn't have met a great friend like you." Zack hugged her, glad that he found someone like her, too.

"Look like you two have been bonding yourselves." Satsu said in a sarcastic voice, walking towards them. "You never told me about your family, Zack."

"I only tell it to people I trust." Zack said, helping Jane up. "That's him over there. What are we going to do about Valentine, Satsu?"

"What else? Dust him."


	13. Chapter Eleven: Something Wicked

**Chapter Eleven: Something Wicked This Way Comes**

_I hated being the one to take care of everyone. I hated having to worry about everyone while half of them hated me. Yeah, I've made mistakes, but hating me doesn't make things better. We have people dying left and right by a vampire that we can't seem to get our hands on. So personal feelings shouldn't be getting in the way. I hated being the one to keep them all together. And yet I found myself being the only one willing to. _

"Why would you do that, Julia?" Zack asked angrily. "Are you insane?" He was walking back and forth, clenching and unclenching his fist. "The reason we told you to stay home was _**because**_ we didn't want him to be able to get to you! What the hell were you thinking?"

"Zack," Jane said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Zack was on Satsu's phone with Julia. She had called and when he overheard that she had let the vampire kiss her, he became enraged.

"I don't care what he said to you! Fine! Whatever." Zack tossed the phone to Satsu and groaned angrily. "Can you believe her? God!"

"Hey, babe." Satsu said. "I'm going to have to call you back later, okay?" She hung up the phone. "She's sorry, Zack. Don't talk to her like that."

"Don't tell me how I should talk to her." Zack spat. "_**You**_ don't get to tell me what to do."

"Whatever," Satsu said angrily. "We need to get back and recuperate. We need to look at our cards and see how to proceed next."

"Tomorrow." Zack said. The three of them began walking to their cars. Jane tapped Zack's shoulder.

"Can I drive?" she asked with a smile, putting her hands out to receive the keys.

"Sure," Zack said, taking the keys out of his pocket and tossing it to her.

* * *

"Oh, no." Betrix was staring at the sky, her eyes wide-open with fear. Julia had driven down to keep Betrix company after their run-ins with Valentine.

"What is it, Betty?" Julia asked.

"Something's coming." Betrix answered. "Something bad." Julia stood next to her and looked up at the sky.

"I don't see anything."

"I've been around these things long enough. I can tell when there are portals being opened. Rifts between dimensions. Someone's torn open a portal. Or is in the process of. Things that are really bad is coming our way." Julia ran her fingers through her hair and stared into the night.

"Something bad is always coming our way." She said. "We'll deal with it when it gets here."

"Perhaps." She said. She turned her head and looked at Amy sleeping peacefully on the bed. "I want to give the child a normal life. But—she can't ever be normal."

"Because she's a demon."

"Because she's with me." Betrix stared at the young girl for a long time before looking back at Julia with a weak smile. "You're good people, Julia. You and Satsu and your friends. I'm really glad that I got the chance to meet you all. I'm glad that there are people like you kids around."

"You're talking like you think the end is coming." Julia said softly.

"No—but it certainly is near. I can feel it in my bones." Their conversation was disrupted by a knock on the door.

"Stay here." Julia said. She picked up her sword that was leaning against the wall and drew it. She walked up to the door and opened it ajar. Satsu was standing outside. Julia opened it wider and Satsu hugged her and gave her a kiss.

"You got me so worried." Satsu said, her arms still around Julia's neck. "Never, _**ever**_ do that again, okay?" Julia nodded and Satsu kissed her again.

"I'm sorry." She apologized. Satsu let go of her. "Where are Zack and Jane?"

"He drove her home or staying the night with her or something. I don't know." Satsu replied with a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Those two are awfully close, lately." Julia remarked.

"Tell me about it." Satsu said taking out her hair band. "They probably started a 'We-Hate-Satsu' club together or something."

"Can't blame them." Julia said. "Not the hating _**you**_ part. The banding together part." She immediately clarified.

"Yeah—" she said frowning.

"But—uh—is the jealousy I'm sensing because of Jane…or…?"

"No," Satsu said immediately. "She's gay. He's a guy."

"It doesn't matter. Answer the question."

"I am _**not**_ jealous of that. Okay?" Satsu reassured her.

"Just wanted to hear it from you."

"So are you ready to leave, babe?" Satsu asked. "I gassed your car and everything."

"I was going to stay to keep Betty company." Julia said.

"I was hoping maybe we can go back to my place," Satsu said putting her hands on Julia's hips and moving closer to her. "Take a warm bath together." She kissed Julia. "Maybe watch a movie." She pecked Julia's neck.

"Maybe get lucky?" Julia teased.

"Well—if the movie gets boring—you never know. I'm open to all sorts of possibilities."

"I would really love to—but I think I better stay with Betty. Someone's got to look after them."

"So—should I be getting jealous that you rather spend your night with her than with me?" Satsu asked with a playful smile.

"Oh, yes. You should be very jealous."

"Dammit. I'm not. Guess that means I don't love you all that much."

"Shut up. Seriously—I think I should stay."

"Valentine isn't going to get in."

"You never know. He might find some demon friends. Best if I stay here. I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you."

"Alright, alright. No one can argue with your heroics. I'm being selfless right now. So I better get a good reward. Not just a make up."

"Okay." Julia chuckled. "Betty thinks something bad's a brewing. Something worse then Valentine."

"Yeah? She say what?"

"No—be she's shaken up. She's talking like the end of world's coming."

"The end of the world? Not all that original."

"Yeah—still scary though."

"You want me to stay?"

"It's okay. You go home and grab that bath and movie. I'll call you in the morning."

"Not if I call you first." Satsu winked. "If there's any problem you call me and I'll be here at the speed of friggen light, okay?"

"Got it, Mom."

"_**Mom**_? Oh, I hope your mom doesn't do this to you." Satsu grabbed Julia's arm and pulled her in close, their bodies touching each other. She kissed Julia hard, their tongues massaging one another's.

"Go, go, go. Get out of here. You're making it hard for me not to leave." Julia said pushing her out of the door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, babe."

* * *

Jane woke up in the middle of the night, her heart racing with fear. She fumbled around the desk next to her bed in search of the light switch. She switched in on and sat up in her bed, pulling her blanket in tight.

"Hey. Hey. It's okay. I'm here." Zack said getting up from the floor. "It's okay." Zack climbed onto bed with her and held her in his arms. "You were just having a nightmare. It's okay."

"I can't believe I'm having nightmares. I haven't had nightmares since I was a kid."

"You're holding up fine, Jane. I mean most people are afraid of imaginary monsters. You _**know**_ they're real. And you're holding up fine." Zack had offered to stay with her that night, especially since after everything they'd seen. She had told him to sleep with her on her bed but he said he was too much of a gentleman to do that. So she gave him her old small, pink sleeping bag and he slept on the floor.

"Can you sleep on the bed now?" Jane asked. Zack laughed and kissed her on the forehead.

"Only if you don't take advantage of me."

"_**Me**_? Last time I checked you weren't a girl. Actually—nevermind."

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't make me leave." Although she knew he was only kidding, the idea of him leaving made her heart beat faster. She grabbed tight onto his arm. "Hey, I was just kidding, okay Janie? I'm not going anywhere. I'm just scared that if your parents walk in on us—"

"Oh, God. They know I'm gay, Zack." Jane said.

"Oh—well—good. Okay then. But—"

"But what?"

"Well—nothing—"

"_**Oh**_,"

"Oh what?"

"I know guys have—you know—they wake up with—"

"Yeah,"

"It's okay. I don't mind. As long as it stays where it belongs." The two of them laughed nervously.

"Okay, fine. Stay on your side of the bed. No funny business." Zack said. "I'll be right here."

* * *

Satsu woke up with a splitting headache. She got out of bed, got dressed, and went downstairs. She poured a bowl of cereal and sat down on the table with her head in her hands.

"You okay, honey?" Lilly asked as she poured a bowl for herself.

"Oh—I'm fine Mrs. Singer."

"Lilly. Call me Lilly, Satsu. No need for formalities anymore. I've been telling you to call me Lilly for a long time."

"I know—I'm just not use to it."

"Did Zack come home last night?" Lilly asked setting her bowl down on the table.

"No, I think he spent the night at Jane's." _Oh, crap. Slip up. I should not have said that._ "I meant—"

"She his girlfriend?" Lilly asked, surprisingly okay with the fact that her son just spent the night at a girl's house.

"No, she—um—was—"

"_**Your **_girlfriend. Right?" _What?_ Satsu dropped her spoon on the ground and picked it up. Her face was flushing red. "It's okay, Satsu. Zack told me."

"He _**what**_?"

"He tells me everything."

"Everything?"

"Yes, Satsu. _**Everything**_." Lilly put a spoonful of cereal in her mouth and then leaned back against her chair. "I haven't told you yet because I didn't know if you were ready. But now seeing as you kids have become increasingly mysterious I've got to. Zack tells me everything—but he hasn't told me what's been bothering all of you and keeping you at other people's houses so often lately."

"I—don't know if it's my place to tell you."

"It's always your place to tell me. You're part of this family, Satsu. I think of you as my own daughter." She reached across the table and held Satsu's hand. "Is there anything going on in Zack's life that I should know about?"

"I think—" Satsu said getting up from the table. "That you need to talk to Zack about it. There _**is**_ something that's going on with him—and I think it's best if he told you himself." Satsu's phone rang and she ran upstairs to get it. _Anything to get me away from that conversation_. It was Julia. "Hey, babe, I was just going to call you."

"_Hey. I think we're rendezvousing at Betty's._"

"Oh, okay. I'll be there." By the time Satsu had gotten to Betrix's house the others were already there. Satsu knocked on the door and Julia was the one who opened it. They were all sitting inside in the living room.

"Good morning, Satsu." Betrix said as Satsu took a seat.

"You guys all look like hell." Satsu said.

"Didn't get a good sleep." Zack said. "Not your fault." Zack said to Jane before she could apologize. "I wouldn't have at home either." They were about to start talking about Valentine whe Julia's phone rang. She looked at the number, shrugged, and picked it up.

"Hello?" There was a long pause. "How did you—?" After a few minutes Julia lowered the phone and dropped it on the table. "That was Valentine."

"What?"

"He wants to meet us. All of us. Tonight. He said the place where he met you, yesterday, Satsu."

"It's a trap." Betrix said.

"Yeah—well then we'll bust the trap. We're finishing him _**tonight**_." Satsu said.

_Okay, maybe not the most well thought out of decisions, but I was through playing these mind games with Valentine. I wanted to end this, once and for all. All of us went that night to meet up with him. Zack went first, sniffing to see if there were more than just Valentine. I made sure there were not traps set up. There wasn't any. And it was just him. He was standing in the shadows like he always did, only this time he looked disturbed. He didn't have his usual cool demeanor._

"I'm glad you came." He said. He didn't sound like the coy, self-absorbed, self-confident self that he was the last time they had met. He was rubbing his fingers nervously.

"What do you want, Valentine? Horrible name by the way. Who the hell named you Valentine?"

"It's a last name—" he said. He shook his head. "Something's coming. Everyone can feel it." Julia looked over at Betrix who stared intently at Valentine. "I want to join you. I'm your only hope."

"What?" Satsu yelled. "You're not _**joining **_us. Why would you?"

"A lot of reasons. One, sticking with you people might help me avoid being slaughtered by what's coming. Two, the evil that's coming is bent on killing the lot of you. I don't want Julia hurt. She's _**mine**_."

"It's pretty sad how bent up you are about her. You're like a stray cat." Zack said. "I hate cats."

"Yeah, that's because you're a dog." Valentine said. "Now—will you let me join you?"

"Of course not!" Zack yelled. "Minute our backs are turned you're going to bite us."

"I wouldn't drink from an animal like you if you were the last thing on this planet, wolf."

"Wanna say that again?"

"Cool it." Satsu said to Zack. "What's coming?"

"Something bad. Sinister. Wicked."

"_**What**_?"

"He doesn't have a name, stupid girl. But people call him by many things. One of the many names—is The Boss."

"Oh, my God." Betrix said, fear all over her face. "He's found a way to enter this dimension?"

"Without the ring? Yes. And he's got vengeance in mind."

"So we'll just take him down." Zack said.

"Again, you think with your teeth instead of your brain. Assuming you have one." Valentine said. "He has an army. _**Plus**_ he can rip all of you into tiny little pieces and feed it to the sharks with little effort. He's powerful."

"How do you know all this?" Satsu asked.

"Because he came to me with a proposition. He asked me to join his army. And when I refused—" Valentine walked out of the shadows. "He demonstrated to me just how persuasive he could be." There were cuts and bruises all over Valentine's face. "And this is me having already had a day to heal."


	14. Chapter Twelve: Alliances

**Chapter Twelve: Alliances, Enemies, and Werewolves**

"Okay. Okay. Back off." Satsu said pushing him back. "We can't trust anything you're saying." Valentine ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"I don't care if you _**trust**_ me." Valentine said. "I'll give you a day to think about it. After that—the deal's off. No Slayer is worth being dusted for if you're not going to be appreciated." Valentine strutted off into the woods. _What the hell am I supposed to do? If what he's saying is true…if this guy has a whole army backing him up…we're screwed._

"We'll figure something out." Julia said wrapping her arms around Satsu from behind and placing her chin on Satsu's shoulder. "We'll deal with it when it comes. The weight of the world doesn't have to rest on our shoulders all the time."

"That's precisely what it is." Satsu said. "The fate of the world _**does**_ rest on our shoulders."

"Well maybe for tonight we can forget about all that. Valentine's too shaken up to do anything stupid right now. Maybe just for tonight," Julia said as Satsu turned around to face her. "We can forget about all our problems. Maybe take that bath and_** not**_ watch that movie." She gave Satsu a kiss. "Maybe you can take me." She whispered in to her ears.

"Okay, then. I'm gonna go." Zack said, disrupting their conversation.

"Go where?" Satsu asked over Julia's shoulder.

"I got business." He said as he began to walk.

"Are you going to take Jane with you?" _Please take her so I don't have to worry about someone taking care of her._

"If she wants."

"I'm right here, people! And oh, thanks for asking, Zack." Jane said. Zack stopped and turned around.

"Do you want to come with me?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Since you asked so nicely." She raised her hand and Zack rolled his eyes. He took it and the two of them left.

"Was she flirting with him just now? I think she's flirting with him." Satsu said as they were walking away.

"Satsu—" Julia said.

"I'm sorry." Satsu said. "Okay. Let's go back to my place then. We'll deal with it when it comes like you said."

"Yeah, you two do that. I'm going to do some recon." Betrix said.

"Recon for what?"

"Just some things I need to figure out. I'll be fine. If I need anything I'll contact you through Amy. You girls have a fun night. You deserve it."

* * *

_I didn't know if I was sure about what I was doing. If I was doing the right thing at all. If any of this was worth doing. But I figured, since Amy and I owed those two girls our lives, the least I could do was to risk it to help them. Sure, they were children, what with their constant strife over their relationships, but they were good children, with good hearts, good intentions, and amazing courage. So I at least need to have that last part. Courage. _

"Where are we going?" Amy asked as the two of them left the woods. Betrix stopped and turned to face the young girl.

"I need you to do me a very big favor, okay, Amy?" Betrix said. She knelt down onto the ground to be eye-level with the girl and held her hand. "And I'm really sorry I have to ask this of you but it's very important." The girl nodded her head and Betrix smile. "Thank you. I need you to connect me to the Boss."

"But—" Amy began.

"Be brave for me. He can't hurt you." Amy nodded her head and held on tighter to Betrix's hand. Betrix closed her eyes and she felt the similar sensation of being pulled into a very dark tunnel. She came out the other side and saw the Boss sitting on his large throne. But they weren't in the demon dimension anymore.

"You're connected." Amy uttered the familiar phrase. They were in a very large house, lavished with beautiful art, food, and music in the background.

"I can sense you, Betrix." The Boss said with a smirk. "Everyone—leave us." His twenty servants obediently left the room. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I need you to leave." Betrix said. "I need you to leave us alone." The man howled in laughter. He was a large man of about ten feet tall. He had dark soulless eyes, long hair, and red skin not unlike Greg and his men. He was powerfully built with a sword to match it at the side of his throne. Betrix have heard of his strength, but she had never witnessed it herself.

"And why would I do that? Not only did you betray my trust, Betrix, you lost me a slave, a dog, and a hunter. Importance in that order. The offense is too great for me to look the other way. You have declared war upon me—and trust me when I say this, I will personally deal with you. I will make you suffer unimaginable pain. This conversation is over. Bring me a Connector!" The door quickly swung open and in came Karen. She reached out her hand, touch the master, and everything went dark. Betrix opened her eyes and looked down at Amy with a smile.

"Thank you for being brave, Amy."

"Why did you talk to him?" Amy asked as the two began walking again. Betrix and Amy got into their car and started the engine. Their three groups had each brought their own cars.

"I needed him to know that _**we**_ know he's hear."

"Why's that?" Amy asked, buckling her seatbelt in the back seat of the car.

"Because he's aggravated now." Betrix started the car engine but didn't drive. "He's angry that I even dared communicate with him. He'll be anxious to attack us. And that might just us a bit of an advantage. He'll be overly confident and we'll smack him down."

"You sound sure." Amy said looking at her fingers.

"I'm not. But anything to help tip the scale is worth it." She said. _Why am I telling a child all this?_

"Where are we going now?" Amy asked her.

"_**We**_," Betrix said slowly. "are going to a movie." She shifted gears and began driving.

"Like the ones you've been talking about? With the big screen?" Amy asked, bouncing up and down in the back seat. "For reals?" Betrix smiled at Amy in the rearview mirror.

"Yes, honey. For reals. Now calm down and sit tight or I'm driving you straight home, okay?" Amy punched the air happily and then crossed her arms to control herself as Betrix laughed heartily.

* * *

"Oh, that feels incredible." Julia said as she extended her legs in the warm bathtub. "You really have a talent for this." She breathed as Satsu pressed her thumbs against Julia's shoulders. Julia was sitting on top of Satsu in the bath, their naked bodies caressing each other's.

"I have a talent for a lot more than just massaging your shoulders." Satsu said running her fingers through Julia's wet hair. "Starting with maybe somewhere a bit more sensitive." She said running her hands down Julia's hips and around to her stomach. She glided it down between Julia's legs. "How's that feel?"

"Might actually be better than that shoulder massage." Julia said, slipping down a bit further into the water so that her head rested on Julia's breasts. "Why can't everyday be more like this?" she asked grabbing onto Satsu's thighs tightly as Satsu's fingers entered.

"You tell me."

"I want to retire." Julia said with a smile. "I know we're only like eighteen but—I really want to retire from this monster fighting business. Just live a normal life, you know? Oh—wow." Julia arched her back, the ecstasy running through her spine. "Damn you are amazing! Anyways...where was I? Oh, just because we have powers doesn't mean it's our responsibility to save the world all the time. We're just kids."

"We get a lot of things that we don't ask for, babe. Its just life."

"Yeah—but do we really need to risk our lives for a world that won't remember our name? When people look back they won't remember who Julia Maze ever was."

"Well it's not the good fight if its about fame."

"I understand the good fight. Heck, I've been doing it since before I got my powers. But that's before—" Julia paused and stopped Satsu's hand from under the water. "That's before I fell in love." Julia turned completely around so that she was facing Satsu in their tub. "And I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"Babe—" Satsu said sweetly. "You are _**not **_going to lose me. We'll both make it through. Look, if we make it through—_**when**_ we make it through this, and save the world, we'll retire, okay? Early retirement. We'll stop this Slaying business and we'll go to college and do all those things crazy young couples do nowadays. Okay? I promise you."

"You better not die, Satsu, or I'm going to kill you." Satsu laughed and let Julia's head fall onto her shoulder.

* * *

_Stupid Zack and his stupid mystery business-trip and his stupid walking and his stupid silence. __**God!**_ _Why the hell did I drag along with—_

"Is that a _**wolf**_?" Jane yelled. They were several hours' drive away from their town and several hours of walking away from their car. Jane's legs were stiff and tired and she felt ready to crash on a soft bed sleep. Day light had broke as they hiked up the mountain. Out from the other side of the slope came a magnificent wolf. Jane was surprised at how large the beast was as it made power strides towards them. It had long, thick snowy white fur, a long nose, pointed ears and radiant _**yellow**_ eyes. "A real wolf? I think that scares me more than a werewolf." Zack laughed as he approached the lone wolf.

"That's because you haven't met a hostile werewolf." He said patting the animal's head. "Wolves are beautiful creatures."

"You _**would**_ say that." She said staring in amazement at how obedient it was.

"He's a bit shy. You might want to back up a few steps."

"_**Its shy**_?" laughed Jane. "What's it got to be shy about?"

"Wolves are shy creatures. Well—when they see humans they tend to hide."

"From the stories I hear they're man-eaters."

"Those ones are because they were captives. They became used to human beings and when they escape they attack humans because they're no longer scared of them. Wolves aren't unlike us. They live in nuclear families with the exception of adopted subordinates. They are alpha-predators with an alpha-wolf that keeps the family in check. Only the alpha can mate and he takes care of his pack. They're fierce fighters and they work _**best**_ when they're together."

"Okay…"

"That's why we're here, Jane. I'm here to find my pack."

"You're going to help us win our war by making your very own pack of wolves?" Jane asked with a laugh.

"There will be wolves that will help us, yes." He said. "See—wolves are like…children to werewolves. We respect them, we take care of them, but they're under our control. They listen to us because when their alpha, like this one right here, sees one of us, they know that we're their superiors. Think of an alpha-wolf as the field leader. It carries out missions and acts as the leader to their pack when we're not around. When we _**are**_, they listen to our every word. We're the true leaders. The true alphas."

"So you're going to use that wolf—to find it's leaders. A pack of werewolves?"

"Not just any pack. _**My**_ pack. I'm trying to find my parents, Jane."

"Oh—" She said not sure what else she could say.

"Right, so follow a bit behind me. Don't scare the wolf. It's going to lead us to my parents." The wolf walked ahead of them with Zack following close behind and Jane a few yards back. They walked over two hours before they reached a house in the middle of nowhere. It was a decently sized wooden cabin and the wolf turned and looked at Zack. Zack patted it on the head and it left them.

"So they live there?" Jane asked and Zack shrugged.

"Must be."

"Couldn't you have just—I don't know—sniffed them out?" She asked him. _He did sniff Valentine…_

"Well—two hours walk is a pretty far way to sniff. And plus—I didn't know where they were. They were never at the place where we ran into the wolf. It was more convenient this way."

"Yeah and completely scary." Jane said giving Zack a push. He laughed and pushed her back softly.

"I was here the whole time. One wolf isn't going to be able to do anything to you with me there."

"How about a pack of werewolves?" came a man's voice. Zack turned around sharply and growled. "Is that any way to greet your father, son?"

"Oh, wow." Jane said gulping. She took a few steps back but a pack of wolves appeared behind her. A dozen other figures came up behind the man, Cooper.

"Dad," Zack said and then he looked over at the two women to the left and right of the man. "Mom. Sophie." He said respectively.

"Is it really you, Wolfram?" his mother said. "Oh, my God." She didn't make a move to come down and hug him, but merely put her hand on Cooper's shoulder.

"Yes, Mother. It's me. I don't go by that name anymore." Zack said clenching his fist and Jane could tell he was shaking with fright.

"Tell me something, Wolfram," his father said ignoring his comment. "Where have you been?" Cooper's voice was strong and commanding. He was large man with broad shoulders and most have been over six-feet tall.

"I've been living a normal life." Zack said, with his head slightly bowed. _Wow…this man is definitely the alpha-male_.

"You disappeared on us. Without a word. You just up and left. Your sister was killed."

"Annie's death was unfortunate." Zack said, showing no emotions. "I was captured and then my captors were kind enough to take me into their homes and give me a decent life. You never came after me."

"They sprayed something that messed with our noses we couldn't—" his mom began but Cooper made a deep growl and she fell silent.

"We couldn't find you. You should've found _**us**_." Cooper stated simply.

"I was captured, Father. It was either being put down or domesticated. I chose the latter. Survival instincts. I'm sure you understand." His father looked at him for a long time before giving him a slight nod of the head.

"So what are you doing here, Wolfram? With that human girl."

"Oh, I'm _**definitely **_jealous." Sophie said taking in a whiff of air. "She smells fucking _**amazing**_."

"Back off, Sophie!" Zack said after he growled.

"Sophie." Their father said. "Leave." Angered, Sophie stomped away.

"I'm here," Zack said a while after Sophie had left. "because I need help."

"And why would I help you?" Cooper asked coldly.

"There's a being coming our way. He's powerful and he's got an army and he's bent on controlling this world and using every single one of its survivors as slaves. We're strongest when we band together, Father. You know this, we all do. We're werewolves. We're a powerful force if we work together—and I know that you don't want this world being taken over by some tyrant from a different dimension." Cooper stood for a long time, his eyes never leaving his son. Finally he took in a deep breath and nodded.

"We'll help you."


	15. Chapter Thirteen: Second Taste

**Chapter Thirteen: Second Taste**

_Retirement. Hanging up the cape. That sounds appealing. I sat in my room with Satsu sound asleep next to me, looking like the beautiful angel that she was, and I couldn't help smiling at the idea. We could be a normal couple. Well, a normal lesbian couple. Okay, a normal lesbian couple with super powers. Point being, we'll get to live our lives the way we want it—let it become what we choose of it. No more dangerous missions. That's the life. Being with the one you love and not worrying about dying the next day._

Julia looked down at Satsu and felt the world around her melt away. The only person that mattered was right there in that room. Not that she didn't care about the fate of the world and all that, but the person she cared about was safely tucked beside her.

Julia's parents had been nagging at her, questioning why she was out at all hours. She told her mom that she was sleeping over at her friends house because her friend's father had just passed away. Her mother wasn't too keen on the idea at first, but when Julia had mentioned it was Satsu's father, her mother immediately gave her permission to stay over as long as Satsu needed. Julia's mother and Satsu's father had been friends and Julia could tell her mother grieved for his lost.

Lying by omission was an interesting feeling, Julia thought. She felt guilty for not telling her parents the truth but at the same time she could comfort herself because she technically _**wasn't**_ lying. The thought of coming out had crossed her mind all but too many times; both as a Slayer and as a lesbian or whatever unlabeled orientation she was. The Slayer part she decided she didn't need to mention. She was going to stop being one along with Satsu. The orientation part—Julia wasn't sure how to tell her parents. They were conservative, somewhat wealthy people and their daughter being, whatever she was, was not something they were going to take easily. Satsu stirred and opened her eyes.

"You awake, babe?" She asked, placing her hand on Julia's lap. "Am I snoring? You'd tell me if I'm snoring, right?" Satsu joked, sitting up herself.

"You sleep like an angel, sweetie."

"Mm, sweetie doesn't ring too well." She said locking hands with Julia under the blankets. "So why are you up?"

"Just thinking." Julia replied, still smiling. She felt happier than she had in a long time.

"About—?"

"You. Us. Parents. Life without Slaying obligations."

"Ah—that." Satsu replied. Julia leaned in so that her back was pressed against Satsu's stomach. She looked up at her and touched her face.

"Kissing you was the smartest decision I ever made."

"Kissing you in the alley was the stupidest—" Satsu said and then she smile. "But it turned out to be the best I've made."

"Yeah, I'm glad you did." Julia closed her eyes and felt Satsu's heartbeat against her back. "So—what're you planning to do? About the Boss, his army—and Valentine."

"Well Zack called and said he got us some help."

"Yeah, you told me." Julia said.

"Betrix said she wanted to discuss with me some plans and tactics."

"Okay,"

"And I don't know about Valentine. We can't trust him. But we can't _**not**_. He'd be a big help in this fight."

"I'll go talk to him."

"What? No."

"Satsu—"

"He's obsessed with you! I'm not going to let you walk into—"

"Satsu, I'm a Slayer. I'm not some stupid damsel in distress that needs protecting." Julia sat up straight and faced her girlfriend. "I'm a grown, strong, independent woman that can take care of herself. I'll kick that vampire's ass to kingdom come if he tries anything. Just trust me, okay? I don't need you overprotecting me."

"Your right. I'm sorry." Satsu said reaching for her hands. "Don't be mad."

"I'm not mad." Julia said. She swore her heart melted as Satsu held onto her hands, apologizing to her. "I'm just saying—I'll be fine. I'm happy you care so much." There was a long, comfortable pause as the two of them sat in silence. Then Julia looked over at the alarm clock. "It's almost nine. What time are you meeting up with Betty?"

"She said not till night." Satsu said. "Zack said he's staying with the werewolves for the weekend to re-familiarize himself with the wolves and the way they hunt. He told me Jane felt more comfortable staying with him than coming back here so she's going to stay there."

"Oh," Julia said and then stretched. "I'll meet Valentine at the same place as last night when it gets dark. So—we have the whole day to ourselves." Julia said with a smile. "What do you want to do?"

"A whole day?" Satsu said with a wry smile. "I can think of a few things."

"Yeah? Like what?" Julia said moving in closer to her.

"Your mind's going to a dirty place, isn't it?" Satsu said laughing.

"Was _**not**_."

"Sure," Satsu pushed herself out of bed and extended her hand. "How does me cooking you the best breakfast in the world, sound?" Julia grinned at her and took her hand.

"It sounds fantastic."

* * *

_The day went by fast. I loved every second of it. It was peaceful and Julia and I got to relax and just be us. I almost forgot about the impending doom and our psychotic vampire. But night came and those two things were exactly what we had to worry about. I refrained from telling Julia to be careful because I knew I've become a bit overbearing. She wished me good luck with Betrix and we separated. I drove over to Betrix house in an unusual good mood. _

"You're here." Betrix said as Satsu stepped through the door. "Have a seat. You want something to drink? I made tea." She said walking into the kitchen.

"Tea sounds good." Satsu said as she sat down on the large couch. Betrix fumbled in the kitchen for a while and came out with two glasses of iced tea and placed them on the table in front of Satsu.

"So Zack gave me a call earlier today—" Betrix began. Satsu nodded her head and took a sip from the tea.

"That's really good tea."

"Thanks,"

"Um—yeah he gave me a call late last night."

"So he said he's got some sort of tactic worked out. A plan of attack for the wolves and him. They're the distraction. They attack outside while we use that to sneak inside and kill the big man. Harder than it sounds considering he can beat us to a pulp."

"I'll believe his strength when I fight him." Satsu said placing down the cup. "So you know any of his weaknesses? Any strategy? Plans of attack?"

"The man has brute strength to begin with. He's large and very powerful—but what makes him extraordinary is his sword."

"A sword?"

"Yes. Now I'm not saying that you can defeat him just because you destroy the sword. Like I said, he's extremely strong. But the sword makes him damn near invincible. Tactic would be to get the sword from him, destroy it, and you and Julia team up and take him down. You _**might**_ have a fighting chance."

"You sure about this?"

"From what I've heard during my time being his servant, yes."

"Sounds awfully a lot like a trick to me."

"How do you mean?" Betrix asked, interested.

"I don't think his strength is in the sword." Satsu said. "I think that's a lie."

"I'm not following you."

"I think he tells people it's the sword—so anyone who dares try to attack him would go for that. They'd be thinking that they have the upper hand and don't know what they're about to get into."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because that's what I'd do." Satsu said. "We're going to destroy the sword first. Just in case. All I'm saying is that I'm not going in there with the mentality that destroying the sword's our plan. Our plan needs to be how to take him down when he's at his strongest."

"I honestly am no help then. Because I don't know _**anything**_ about how strong he actually is. I've never witness him fight—anybody."

"He has to work out—right? Train to fight?" Satsu asked.

"Yes, I'm sure he does."

"Do you have an inside man, Betrix?"

"An inside man?"

"Someone who'd help us. Someone you can trust."

"I have trust worthy friends there, Satsu, but none that would be stupid as I am to face the Boss himself."

"They don't need to do anything stupid. All I need is to be able to see him fight. We need to connect with someone—through Amy—and spy on the Boss. I want to know how strong he is, how he fights, and his weaknesses. The only way we can do that is by watching him." Betrix sat for a long while, sipping her tea. She seemed to be deep in thought. Only after she had finished her tea and placed it down on the table did Betrix let out a long sigh and nodded her head.

"You're right."

* * *

"Valentine. Valentine!" Julia said with her sword drawn. She looked around at the dark woods, scanning for any sign of movement. "It's Julia. If you don't come out here right now I'm going to leave." She stood with her back to a tree, her eyes scanning from one side to the other. "I'm going to count to three. One." she heard something. A rabbit maybe. "Two." She heard a few more rustling noises. "Valentine?" It was silent again. "Fine. Three. I'm leaving." Julia turned to leave but she saw what had been making those noises. Eight, very large, very red figures stood in front of here. Well, there were six red figures, a green one with red horns, and a weird looking one that she couldn't describe. They were Hunters.

"Boo," said the one standing in front of the group. "You scared, little girl?" He looked and sounded an awful lot like Greg and Abu.

"Nah," Julia said gripping her sword tighter. "Faced you idiots before. Lived. I think I'm fine."

"Greg and his team were good men. You killed them and now you're going to pay." They all took a few steps forward.

"It was completely self defense. I mean—" Julia was walking backwards now. They surrounded her.

"You're going to know what true suffering means." Said the leader.

"You know, I've heard that line a few times already. Evil people need to come up with better lines. They're all over said—" She dodged a punch. Someone kicked her. Another person punched her. Two of the grabbed her arms. The leader punched her repeatedly and then grabbed her by the throat.

"You talk way too much." It said and punched her in the gut. She coughed as she fell to the floor. _I need to fight back._ Grabbing her sword from the ground, Julia stood up and swung it around wildly. To her surprise, it took off the green demon's head. The weird looking demon came forward and she sliced down her sword, cutting it in half.

"That wasn't too bad." she said looking at the two dead bodies.

"They were in training." Said a red demon. "We're not." It threw a punch and Julia blocked it but she felt another punch to her sides. She was picked up and then thrown at a tree. She got up wearily. She was going to die…there. As they came rushing at her, something came rushing out of the woods. It grabbed her. The demons ran after them. She found herself being hid behind a boulder. Struggling, Julia looked at her savior. It was Valentine. Freaking out, she pushed herself off of him and stood up. He grabbed her arm and pulled her down. She fell onto the ground.

"What the hell? Where were you? Why'd you save me?"

"Of course I saved you. I can't let those idiots kill you." He looked over at her and smiled. "Your mine."

"I am not yours and if you say that again I'm going to dust you right now."

"If you dust me right now—" Valentine said coolly. "how are you going to get out of this very ugly situation?" _He's right._

"So what do you propose? You saved me and then _**hid**_. You're not exactly strong enough to take on these guys."

"I'm not." He stated simply. Then he gave her the most evil smile she had ever witnessed. "I'm not _**yet**_."

"Okay, your thinking about killing me aren't you? Just so you know—I've got a stake on me."

"I'm not going to kill you. My God, you people think I'm some sort of heartless bastard."

"You're a soulless friggen vampire!" Julia yelled.

"Would you shut up? They're going to hear you." Valentine said with a stern glare. "I might be _**evil**_ and I have a tendency to kill the people you care about but I am by no means heartless. I love you."

"Okay, I'm definitely going to kill you." Julia said reaching for her stake.

"Fine, I'm obsessed with you." Valentine said.

"Is that supposed to make me want to dust you _**less**_?"

"You know, if you keep talking I might consider killing you." Valentine said. "I'm here to save you. So shut it."

"Is it just me or are you actually really scared of these people?" Julia said leaning against the rock.

"Of course I'm scared of them." Valentine said. He seemed to have collected his cool again. "They're extremely powerful beings. You and I together cannot defeat them. Not like this."

"What do you mean 'not like this'?"

"What I mean is—" Valentine said. "I need to drink from you if we're going to both get out of here."

"Your kidding, right?"

"No, I don't know what kidding is." He said seriously. "The only way we can both take them is if I drink from you. I'll get that boost of strength and you'd heal in a bit. We each take three."

"I'm not strong enough to take three."

"Yes, you are." He said. "I saw them fight just now. They're not the most experienced of fighters. You can. You will. So are you going to let me drink from you or not?"

"You're going to kill me if I let you."

"I'm a man of my words, Julia. Do not insult me by accusing me of lying. I do what I say. I said I would turn you when you ask me. That's my promise. My word. I'm an honest vampire and I will not lie. Plus, even if I drain you dry I'd still wouldn't be nearly strong enough to fight all of them." Julia sat staring at her enemy. The offer he made was something that she knew Satsu would disprove of in a heartbeat. But sitting there waiting to die was no plan. This _**was**_ in fact her only hope. Clenching her fist in anger at having to go through this, Julia slanted her head slightly to reveal her neck to him. A smile creeped up on the soulless vampire's face as he began turning into his vampire state. He moved his face close to her bear neck and did what he did the last time he had this opportunity, he licked it. He penetrated her skin as he sank his teeth into her neck and began to drink. Julia grabbed the grass and dirt on the ground as he wrapped his arms around her body. He forced her on the ground, pressed her arms against the dirt. She was powerless now. He was in control of her fate as he had his second taste of her blood. She could feel the bulge in his pants and he began moving his body, pressing his erection against her jeans. "You taste sweet." he said. "Just like your lover said." She felt her life slowly being sucked away. As tears fell down the side of her face, she closed her eyes…


	16. Chapter Fourteen: The New Alpha

**Chapter Fourteen: The New Alpha**

_So everything Zack had told me about his family was true. His father was a mean, hot-tempered, and incredibly selfish man. His mother wasn't extremely bad, but she listened to Cooper as if he were a god. Sophie was sadistic and manipulative and I hated her with a passion. Not that I could do anything about it. She could rip my head of and have me for breakfast if she wanted to. Zack was hard at work most of the time, training with his wolves and devising out a plan of attack. He always kept me close as to make sure I was safe from people like Sophie._

"Are you his girlfriend?" came a voice. Jane jumped to her feet, her heart racing. "It's okay. I'm friendly." It was Zack's mother. She took a seat next to Jane and Jane slowly sat back down. "I'm Martha." The woman extended her hand and Jane took it cautiously.

"Jane." She replied. Martha nodded her head and the two of them looked down the sloped hill at the pack of wolves and werewolves wrestling and playing below.

"So you didn't answer me. Are you his girlfriend?" Jane looked straight a head for a long time. Zack seemed to be having fun. Finally, show looked over at Martha and gave her a shrug.

"Of sorts." She said. "As close of a girlfriend as he's got." She laughed. "No, I'm not his girlfriend."

"Do you like him? Wolfram?"

"Its Zack."

"Zack."

"I love him. But not in that way."

"Why not?"

"I'm gay." She said with a fake smile.

"Oh," Martha said nodding her head. "Well if you _**were**_ straight—would you? I mean—is there anything wrong with him?"

"Oh, God no! He's an amazing guy. I'd jump on him in a heartbeat!" the two women laughed together, sitting up on the hill.

"He's an amazing kid, that one. Always looking out for everyone one—trying to shield them from the horrors of life."

"Yeah, that's him alright. Trying to be everyone's savior."

"He loved his younger siblings. Especially Anne. Little Annie was his favorite. I can't even imagine what he went through losing her."

"Yeah," Jane said frowning. She looked down at werewolf-Zack playing with the wolves and smiled.

"I loved Cooper, you know?"

"Loved?"

"Love," she corrected herself. "But he no longer loves me."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I think he's sleeping with our daughter." That was probably the most unexpected statement Jane had ever encountered. She looked over quickly at Martha with wide eyes.

"What?"

"Well they're not really related."

"It's still disgusting!"

"It is—" Martha closed her eyes. "She's always been independent. I've always viewed her as an obnoxious younger sister. So did he. _**My**_ baby sister. I've seen the way he's looked at her in the past—but back then I was still alpha-queen. The older sister. The better one. Now I'm growing old and she's still beautiful." Jane looked back down at the field. She hadn't noticed it before, but Cooper did seem and awful close to their "sister".

"She slept with Zack. When he was younger." Jane said, trying to make it sound casual instead of an attack on the woman.

"I know,"

"You didn't do anything."

"I beat her up a few times. But now—" Martha rolled up her shirt to reveal a clawed up stomach. "She beats _**me**_."

"Oh, my God." Jane said, examining the wounds. "I—I'm sorry. Does Cooper—?"

"Cooper doesn't care. He came in once while we were fighting. He laughed and left to enjoy a warm meal." Tears were rolling down Martha's cheeks. "I'm not saying I wasn't a bad person. I did things—killed many, _**many **_people in my life. What I never expected was losing my children in the process." Martha paused for a while before she continued. "You know, you remind me a lot of myself."

"Yeah? How so?"

"You seem like you've changed a lot in a short amount of time." Martha commented.

"Yeah," Jane said with a laugh. "I have. Ever since Zack and them came into my life. I still remember when I would steal glances at this girl I had a crush on. Satsu. And I was _**so**_ scared to talk to her because I thought, 'Why the hell would a girl like that want to talk to me?' And the highlight of my week would be getting all those As on my exams and showing them to my mom. She'd be so proud of me she'd take me out shopping and buy me whatever I wanted." She laughed and Martha smiled kindly at her. Jane examined Martha's face. She hadn't noticed it before, but Martha was a rather young woman. At least she was much younger than Jane had originally thought. She was probably in her mid-thirties. "What are you? Like ten years older than Sophie?

"Twelve."

"Wow. Why'd you have a kid so young?"

"I met Cooper when I was twenty. He wanted to start a pack so we tried but we couldn't conceive. I thought he'd kill me or kick me out but he told me that he loved me. That it's okay if we adopt people into our clan. So one day we went to Wolfram and Hart and asked them to help us. They gave us Sophie. I was twenty-two and she was ten. I didn't feel like a mother, but I took care of her. Then he wanted more. We went to Wolfram and Hart again and they gave us three children that time, Wolfram, Anne, and Tyler. I was twenty-four and Wolfram was seven. I felt a lot more like a mother then." She let out a weak laugh. "I lost all my children. The ones I loved. Anne was killed. Wolfram was kidnapped. And then Tyler reached twelve and left us. Told me he hated my guts and that he wanted to find his older brother. He said he'd never forgive me for the things I made him do. That was when I realized what I had done. The terrible things I've done doesn't haunt me. I know I'm a bad person. A horrible person. But what hurt was that in the process of doing all those evils, I had lost the loves of my life. My beautiful little children. Tyler made me realize that." _She doesn't know he's dead._

"Martha? I got something to tell you." Jane was scared. She didn't know how to do this. Should she be the one to tell her at all? Shouldn't this be Zack's job?

"What is it?"

"Tyler—he was murdered. Zack and I found him. A vampire killed him." Martha opened her mouth in shock and she began to tear up and screamed in agony. She fell into Jane's arms and Jane patted the woman's back.

"My poor baby." She was shaking as she cried.

"I'm so sorry."

"What's going on?" came Zack's voice. Both Jane and Martha looked up to find Zack staring down at them.

"It's nothing, Zack." Jane said. "What're you doing up here?"

"I heard a scream. You can't say its nothing when _**she's**_ in your arms crying."

"You should talk to her." Jane said. She stood up and gave Martha's hand a gentle squeeze of encouragement. She walked over to Zack and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Go easy on her." She said indicating the woman. Zack gave Jane a confused look. "Just trust me."

* * *

_It was weird hearing the accounts of my past through my mother's eyes. All these years, all those times I've often wondered about what went through her mind as she led us into massacres, it had never once crossed my mind that she might, too, had been a victim of Cooper's cruelty. When she told me about Sophie and Cooper sleeping together I couldn't help but laugh. She didn't find it so funny. I told her that those two are more perfect for each other's twisted minds then anyone I'd ever seen. She loved him, Cooper. I couldn't understand why. Although she wasn't the greatest person in the world, she had a heart. She wasn't completely like Cooper. So why would she love an evil, murderous, cheating man? I couldn't understand. I might never. What I did know was that I forgave my mother. I would never trust her—but at least I knew that she wasn't all bad. _

"You have a strange way of making people trust you, you know that? Make people want to open up to you." Zack said as he walked up to Jane. "It's pretty cool." Jane smiled and she walked into his arms. They embraced under the night sky. "Thank you, for getting her to open up." Jane laughed, her face pressed against his chest.

"I didn't. She walked up to me and just started blabbing about her life's story." Jane said.

"Well whatever it was—thank you." She let go of him but he held onto her.

"What?" she said laughing nervously.

"I love you." He said. He kissed her on the forehead, taking in her scent. "You're the most amazing person to have entered my life. Well—there's Lilly and Thomas, but that's different."

"I love you, too, Zack." She said putting her hand on his chest. "But if you don't let go of me I'm going to have to yell 'rape'." She joked. Chuckling, he let go of her. "So what's up?"

"There're new predators in this area. They've killed some of our wolves. Snow was hurt the other day. Cooper said that was the last draw."

"Snow?"

"The pack leader. The one that led us here."

"Oh," Jane said. "I didn't know it had a name."

"Yeah. Cooper wants to hunt them down. Said they might be a neighboring werewolf pack."

"Why not negotiate a plan with them? You stay off their turf they stay off yours."

"It's not that easy. Clans don't get along too well. Especially ones of our size. And from what I've heard, their clans got a number on even _**us**_."

"So what're you going to do?"

"I'm not sure. I was thinking asking them for help but that wouldn't work. We work well as a pack but I don't know if it's the same with multiple packs."

"Has it been done before?" Jane asked. Zack nodded his head.

"Multiple packs teaming up to take down a single, very powerful, prey has been known to happen." Zack said. "Thing iduring a hunt, everyone follows the leader. In this case, Cooper. If we have two packs, there would be two leaders. Things would get awfully confusing."

"But not impossible."

"No, definitely not impossible."

"Then try it." Jane said. "I know its not simple, but the more we have on our side, the more chance we have at winning this war." Zack nodded thoughtfully.

"You're right. " Zack said. "I'll go talk to Cooper in the morning."

Zack and Jane shared a bed and when Zack woke up he hand his arms around her. He smiled and stroked her short blonde hair. She murmured something and turned around. Her face was next to his. She opened her eyes slowly.

"Good morning there, handsome." She said giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "You mind moving so I can get out?" she said. It was a very small bed and she was sleeping on the side against the wall.

"No, I'm keeping you here." He said jokingly. "I finally got you in bed with me, why would I let you leave?"

"Oh, gross." She said climbing over him. "Don't make me start making you sleep on the floor again." Laughing, Zack climbed out of bed as well. The two of them got ready and they had breakfast together.

"So I'm going to go meet up with Cooper and talk about making a truce with the other werewolves. You stay home okay? Do not go anywhere. Don't wonder off—"

"Zack," Jane said dropped her spoon. "Shut up." He smiled and nodded his head and stood up.

"I'll see you when I get home, sweetheart." He said.

"Have a good day at work, honey." She joked back. Cooper was with the other werewolves in the field when Zack arrived. Martha wasn't next to Cooper but instead was off to the edge of the pack. Sophie was the one who was openly flirting with him. Zack approached them and lowered his head to Cooper. Cooper nodded.

"You're late." He said in his commanding voice.

"I spent some time with Jane."

"I understand fulfilling your needs, son, but—"

"My relationship with her isn't like that." Zack said. "We're not lovers."

"Are you queer?"

"What?" Zack asked. "No!"

"Then why are you not having sex with her?"

"Because she doesn't want to. We're not—"

"It doesn't matter what _**she**_ wants," Cooper said as if that was the most absurd idea he'd ever head. Zack opened his mouth to say something but Martha shook her head at him.

"Fine. I'll screw her silly the next time I see her." He said sarcastically.

"Are you challenging me, boy?" Cooper said with a growl.

"No, Father." Zack lowered his head again.

"You had better watch that mouth of your then, kid."

"I'm sorry, Father." Zack said. Cooper finally stopped his intense glare and put his arm around Sophie.

"I have an announcement to make." He said. "From today onward, your new alpha-female will be Sophie. She will take Martha's place by my side. Does anyone object?" No one said anything. "Good. Martha, get out of my sight before I have you killed." Martha didn't seem surprised. She looked at Zack and he walked over to her.

"Go to Jane. Tell her what happened. She'll keep you company." He whispered. Martha nodded and Zack added, "Keep her safe for me, Mom?" She nodded her head, tears forming in her eyes. He held her hand and kissed her cheek. "Thank you." Martha walked off with her tails between her legs, metaphorically speaking.

"So, today we're going to hunt down those stupid new werewolves that—"

"Actually, Father, I have a suggestion." His father stopped and glared at his son. He hated being interrupted.

"What is it?"

"I think it'd be beneficial for everyone if we made a truce with them." His father's eyes grew wide and he showed his teeth.

"Are you joking with me?"

"Not because I think we can't beat them—but it would keep us from losing valuable men and wolves and I think it would help us in the fight against the Boss."

"We don't need help—"

"They have an army. We have a dozen werewolves. That's not enough. This clan might have even more people then we do. If we team up with them our forces would grow by double if not more. Think about it, Father."

"What are we going to do with their alpha?"

"Kill him. Or we could challenge him."

"I'm not going to challenge another clan's alpha. And I'm definitely not going to risk the chance of—" _Losing? Wow, I never knew you were such a coward. Guess he's only confident when he's around those smaller than him._

"Okay. I'll challenge their leader." Zack said. "If a beta like me can beat their alpha, their bound to listen to us."Cooper gave him a slight nod.

"Fine. If you want to risk your life. We'll head out now." It wasn't hard to find the clan. The area stunk of their new scent. Cooper and Zack brought their whole clan with them, every werewolf and every wolf. They marched straight into the center of their neighbor's clan and stood their ground. The new clan circled around them, growling. Their alpha stepped forward.

"Do you challenge us?" he asked Cooper. He could tell right away that Cooper was their leader.

"No," Zack said, stepping forward. "I challenge _**you**_." They had almost two-dozen werewolves and even more wolves than that. It must have once been two separate clans that joined together.

"Oh, really?"

"Conditions. If I defeat you your subordinates work for us. If you win, you can do whatever you want to our clan." Cooper growled but Zack raised his hand.

"Trust me." He said to his father.

"Okay then." Their alpha said. "What is your name, foolish child?"

"My name is Zack. What about you?"

"They call me Death." _Obviously your name isn't Death, asshole._

"Interesting. Okay, then 'Death', let's get started." The two of them transformed at the same time and before anyone could say "go!" they were at each other's throats. Death was a larger wolf but Zack had the upper hand when I came to speed and precision. Every now and again Death would get a few good hits on Zack, but for the most part Zack avoided being hurt too badly. The fight was a relatively fast one.

Zack jumped into the air and bit down. He got Death's leg. Death howled in pain but with a shake his Zack's mighty neck, Death's leg broke. He fell onto the ground. He was silent in pain. After some time, Death turned back into his human form. Everyone was quiet for a long time and then there came a thundering of howls and the clan surrounding Cooper's bowed their heads to Zack. Zack stood looking around at them and smiled.

"Good, now take that man out of my sight." Cooper said. They didn't move. "Do you idiots hear me?"

"He's our new alpha." Said one of the werewolves, indicating Zack. "Not you."

"He works for _**me**_."

"Not anymore." The man said sternly. "What do you wish us to do?" the man asked Zack. Zack stood in complete shock. He was at the head of his own clan now.

"Take him away and make sure he is tended to." Zack said slowly.

"I guess you got what you came for." Cooper said with contempt.

"I still need your help—"

"Of course you do." Cooper turned. "And you'll get it." He walked away. Sophie stayed behind and when Cooper was out of ear shot she walked up to Zack.

"You were amazing." She said putting her hand on his chest. "You did make a good werewolf after all. Just like I always said." She bit her lower lip as she examined his naked body. "You want that present I was never able to give you?" she breathed in his ear. Still pumped with wolf-adrenaline, Zack pulled her in close to him and kissed her.


	17. Chapter Fifteen: Plan A

**Chapter Fifteen: Plan A**

"It was a mistake, okay?" Zack said. "Stop laughing!" Jane was practically on the floor laughing hysterically. Martha smiled and shook her head as she continued cooking. "Jane, I'm serious!"

"Okay, okay. I'll stop." She looked about ready to stop laughing when she broke back into fits of hysteria again.

"Goddamit." Zack said covering his face with his hands. "I should not have told you."

"I'm sorry." She said smiling. "Your inner wolf just has horrible taste in women. All I'm saying." She put his arms around his shoulders and gave him a kiss. "There. See, you should've come straight back and kissed me instead."

"Are you sure you're gay? Because I'm _**totally**_ okay if your not." Zack said with his arms around her waist.

"Yeah, I'm sure I'm gay, Zack." She patted his face three times and went to the dinner table to set it up. Zack sat down and buried his face his arms. "Oh, stop wallowing." Jane said placing a plate in front of him. "She isn't _**bad**_ looking. Hell—she's actually really hot. It's just she's a horrible person."

"Yeah, I know that, Jane. Thanks for the info."

"You're just lonely." Martha said placing down the pot of pasta. "You need to find yourself a beautiful young werewolf girl. You're the head of your own pack now. You need to have an mate if you're going to earn the respect of your followers."

"Oh, that's cute." Jane said sitting down next to him. "She better be totally cool or I'm going to have a fit about it." Zack chuckled weakly and then his face fell.

"Let's get serious again for a second." Zack said. "I'm scared." Jane's smile faded and she held his hand in hers.

"You're going to do great, Zack."

"I feel like I'm leading everyone to their deaths." He said staring at the plate in front of him. "I mean we have _**no**_ idea what we're dealing with. Who knows what's going to happen?"

"While you were out Satsu gave me a call. Well, you a call. She said that they came up with a plan to scope out our enemy."

"That's good." Zack said nodding his head. "Makes me feel at least a little bit better." He turned his head to look at Jane. "Are you okay talking to her again?"

"Um," Jane said with a frown. She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess. Not really."

"I'm sorry."

"Who's Satsu?" Martha asked as she scooped food onto each of their plates.

"The girl I told you I had a crush on. She's my ex." Martha nodded her head.

"Eat while the food is warm." Martha said.

"Mom?" Zack said after he took a bite of his food.

"Yeah?"

"What are you going to do? Now that Cooper kicked you out of the pack?"

"I don't know." She said. "Probably find a place to live. Try and find a decent man."

"I'm sorry. About what he did to you. About what Sophie did to you."

"It was never your fault."

* * *

_I swore I thought I died. I mean…I really thought I had died. I opened my eyes and thought I was in hell. Valentine was next to me. I was in his arms. I finally remembered what had happened. He had drunk from me. I struggled to get away from him and fell on the ground. I had regained most my strength but I still felt weak._

"Hello, there." He said. "They're going to find us soon."

"You son of a bitch." She said with contempt.

"Hey, I didn't do anything I said I wouldn't do."

"You rubbed your—"

"I got a bit carried away. But like I said, I'll make love to you when you tell me to."

"You do know that's never going to happen, right?"

"Oh, it will."

"I thought I was going to die."

"You were about to. I drank quite a bit of blood from you. Like I said—got carried away. You have such an amazing taste." He said. _He gets creepier by the day. _The worst part was, even though he hadn't "violated" her, she still felt like she had been raped. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

"Are you strong enough now to fight them?" she asked.

"Maybe if I got another drink—"

"Fuck you!"

"I'm just kidding. Calm down."

"I thought you didn't know what kidding was."

"I was trying to convince you to let me sink my teeth into your neck." He said with a laugh. "I'd say anything."

"I _**will**_ kill you." She said and he shrugged his shoulders.

"If it's after I get to make love to you and turn you—I'd be dusted a happy vampire."

"You are one sick bastard."

"Thank you." He looked behind the rock. "You've been out for about two minutes. They're searching everywhere. They're eventually going to find us."

"I still feel weak."

"Grab my hand."

"No."

"Just do it." Julia grabbed a hold of Valentine's hand. "Now squeeze as hard as you can." She did. She felt the bones in his hand get crushed under her strength. He grunted and pulled his hand away. He showed her his hand as it healed.

"You'll be fine." He said getting up. "Hey, fellas! We're right here." Julia jumped up and saw the six of them running towards them.

"You take the three on the right." She said, jumping over the boulder. She ran straight at them and tackled one of them. She flipped over him, took his head between her hands and swung him. He flew and hit the one furthest from her. She jumped onto and broke the neck of the demon closest to her. The two stood up and charged at her. She quickly glanced over at Valentine. He wasn't having as much luck as she was. She turned back. She drove her fist into one of their faces and it crushed the demon's head. The demon fell to the ground, dead. Either she had gotten a lot stronger or they were a lot weaker than Greg's gang. She was hoping it was the former. The last one hesitated for a moment and then it turned and broke into a run. It was running away. She was about to run after it but she turned to looked at Valentine. He was on the ground being beaten. She could leave him. She could escape and he would be dead. _He's just a soulless vampire, Julia. Don't do it. Don't save him. _"Ugh! I am so going to regret this."

* * *

"So do you want me to make contact or you to?" Betrix asked. Satsu looked over at Amy who was sitting on the couch swinging her legs back and forth. She was drawing something and she seemed rather into it.

"Can she do both of us?" Satsu asked.

"That'd take a toll on her."

"I think it'd help if both of us were there, you know? You can talk to the inside man and convince him to help us while I study the Boss for myself." Betrix sighed and looked over at the young girl.

"Hey, Amy." She said and Amy looked up at her and smiled.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you can connect both Satsu and me? At the same time?" Amy put a hand on her face and thought hard for a long time and then she nodded happily.

"Yep."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it shouldn't be any different. I got two hands right?" She placed down her pencil and extended her hands. Satsu and Betrix each took a hold of one tiny hand and closed their eyes.

"Connect me to Zone." Betrix said. It was Satsu's first experience with connection. Betrix had already explained to her the sensation but it wasn't quite the same as experiencing it first hand.

"You are connected." Amy said when Satsu finally emerged from the other side of the tunnel. She looked around at the room. It was a small, very dark room and Satsu fumbled around to find the light switch. She couldn't touch anything.

"It's just your mind that's here, Satsu." Betrix said. "You aren't physically here. You have to remember that." Satsu looked around the room.

"Can he hear us?" she asked.

"Zone!" Betrix yelled. The right came on and there stood the old frail man.

"What the bloody hell, Betrix?" came his booming voice.

"We need your help."

"Oh, you need my help?" he yelled. _He speaks __**really**__ loudly. _"It's because of you that I ended up being dragged out of my comfortable position and put on this dimension to tag stupid slaves."

"Well—that's your job, Zone." Betrix said.

"I know it's my job!" he said. "But at least back home I have a nice comfortable house and women on me constantly."

"That's just disgusting." Satsu said.

"Who the hell's that?"

"A friend. Look, Zone, I need your help. Will you help me?"

"You know I'm going to help you, Betrix. You've shown me more than a few good nights when you lived among us."

"Oh, wow. Even more gross. Really, Betrix?"

"Satsu," Betrix said kindly. "I'm going to need you to shut up."

"Right, sorry."

"So what do you need?" Zone asked sitting on his bed.

"I need you to be there when the Boss is training. We need to scope him out and see how he fights. We need to know his weaknesses."

"Oh—we'll that's not too hard. I can get you in there. But it's not going to be right now. Maybe in about five hours. _**After**_ I get some sleep."

"That's fine."

* * *

"I cannot believe that I just saved your life. I have no idea what I was thinking." Julia said panting. She stood over the three dead demon's bodies.

"I did kill your ex-boyfriend. Your girlfriend's father. Your ex-best friend's brother."

"I remember all that." Julia said shaking her head. "Look—we're even now. At least as far as it comes to saving each other's lives. You saved my life. I just saved yours. We're even. Can you _**please**_ stalk someone else?"

"No, I can't." Valentine said standing up straight. "But like I said. I want to join you in the fight against the Boss. Will you let me?" Julia stood staring into his face for a long time before nodding.

"It all depends on what Satsu wants. But as far as my vote goes—fine. If you try anything on Satsu or me though, you're going to be dust. You got that?" Valentine shrugged and the two of them began walking. After a long time of silence Julia finally spoke. "Why are you so into me?" she asked. Valentine laughed at that, as if it were something funny.

"I don't know." He said. "Because you're interesting. You're a challenge. Because I couldn't have you when I wanted you the first time."

"I don't know why Satsu loves me." Julia said. She shook her head. "I mean—she's amazing. She's smart. She's a way more talented Slayer than I am. She's the love of my life." Julia began laughing but Valentine just stared coolly at her. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this."

"I don't mind." Valentine said. "It's good to know my prey better."

"Fuck you." Julia said walking away.

"You sure seem to cuss a lot more lately."

"You don't know me, Valentine."

"I will."

"Fuck off."

"Hey," he said. Julia stopped and turned back to look at him.

"What?"

"She loves you because there's nothing not to." He turned and walked away.

* * *

Zack and Jane were sitting on the couch talking when their door was thrown open. Sophie strode into their house. She walked into their kitchen, grabbed an apple and then went into the living room. She took a bite as she eyed Jane.

"What are you doing here?" Zack asked, standing up.

"Babe, aren't you glad to see me? If I recall correctly you were making out with me just yesterday"

"That was a mistake."

"Yeah, tell me about it. If Cooper finds out he'd make you pay big time."

"If Cooper finds out I'll many _**you**_ pay."

"Promise?" Sophie said with a wink.

"Get out of here." Came Martha's voice. She had just woken up from a nap in her room.

"Shut up, bitch." Sophie growled.

"Who are you calling a bitch?" Zack grabbed Sophie's arm.

"What the fuck is going on in here?" Came Cooper's booming voice. Zack immediately let go of Sophie's arm.

"Nothing. I was just giving Wolfram here a little visit." Cooper snorted at Martha and then looked over at Zack.

"You ready to go?" Zack nodded his head.

"Yeah. We all packed our things already."

"Good. We'll leave in an hour." Cooper began walking but Sophie didn't move. "Let's go, babe." He said but she shook her head.

"I wanted to talk to Wolfram about something." She said.

"Fine. Meet me at our house later." He left. Sophie continued to stare at Jane.

"What are you doing?" Zack said. "Why are you looking at her like that?"

"She's cute." Sophie said. "I'd tap that." She gave Jane a smile and Jane cleared her throat. "How do you think I look?" Jane looked away.

"Sophie, what are you doing?" Sophie rolled her eyes and looked back at Zack.

"I don't want to be with Cooper." She said softly. "It's disgusting. He's my dad-ish. Our dad…ish."

"Then why are you with him?"

"Are you fucking me? Wait—keep that thought."

"Is it possible for you to carry on a conversation without making it sexual?" Zack said, annoyed.

"Well, sorry for having a bit of fun when I talk. I mean you should hear yourself. My fucking _**God**_ I want to fall asleep. Maybe sleep _**with**_ you but—" Zack rolled his eyes and she smiled. "I need you to take me as your mate."

"What?"

"You know you want me."

"I know you're my sister."

"Not really."

"True, but no."

"Come on, Wolfram." Sophie said getting close to him. "You can't tell me you don't find me attractive."

"Ahem." Jane cleared her throat. Zack took a few steps back.

"Look, Sophie—if you don't want to be with Cooper just tell the guy."

"He'd kill me."

"That might actually be a better alternative."

"Goddamit, Wolfram. I need your help! Okay?"

"Sophie, you're an evil bitch."

"I am not an evil bitch."

"Let's be honest with each other here. You're definitely an evil bitch."

"Okay," Sophie said. "Fine. I'm an evil bitch. But I don't know what to do."

"Cooper will probably be bored with you in a few years. You can get through it."

"Fine, if you're not going to mate with me then do me another favor."

"What?"

"Lead him to his death on the battle field." Sophie said. "You know you want to." Zack opened his mouth and then closed it. _Am I capable of something like that?_ He looked over at Martha who let out a laugh.

"I can't argue with that." She said.

"I—" Zack looked over at Jane. She didn't make eye contact with him.

* * *

_Julia returned from her visit with Valentine and told me that he would join forces with us. She also had a bite mark. I asked her about it and she told me the story. After she finished I was ready to rush out of the house and rip his head off. Julia told me that he saved her life._

"_He kept his promises, too." She said. I was still enraged and ready to kill something. _

"_That's because he wants you to trust him! When you do he's going to trick you into getting what he wants from you." I yelled._

"_Well I don't trust him. And what he wants is for me to willingly come to him. That's not ever going to happen. Stop worrying. I'm sorry I let him bite me."  
_

Satsu took Amy's hand and closed her eyes. She was now in the Boss's room. Zone was on the ground, on his arms and knees. There was a demon standing over him. On the throne was the Boss.

"Are they here now?" he asked. Zone let out a whimper and nodded. "Good. Then they can hear me. Listen," he said. "Anyone who you bring into this will suffer the same fate as he." With that the demon in front of Zone picked him up and snapped him in half. Satsu and Betrix awoke in state of shock. They were on the ground with Julia trying to help them up.

"What happened?" Julia asked.

"They kill him. They killed Zone." Betrix breathed.

"Plan A failed." Satsu added.


	18. Chapter Sixteen: Stalemate

**Chapter Sixteen: Stalemate**

_Home wasn't the same as I had left it. Jane and I had only been gone for a few days but it seemed spirits were low. Satsu and Julia seemed a bit at odds with each other. Betrix was in a state of depression. My arrival with over ninety wolves and werewolves seemed to lighten things up a bit for everyone. The wolves we kept in large vans. I instructed them not to make too much noise. Snow, I allowed to stay with me at my house. The werewolves found themselves hotel rooms, tents to sleep in our back yards, and so on. Living quarters weren't the hardest part. The hardest part was finding the money to __**feed**__ all of them. Luckily, a lot of them **had **money and they provided for themselves. _

"Hey, Zack." Came Julia's voice. Zack was sitting in his backyard with Snow. He was wrestling with the wolf, who bit him gently every time he got the upper hand. Zack stopped and patted Snow on the head.

"Go to sleep, boy." Zack stood up and gave Julia a weak smile. "What are you doing here?" He walked over to the patio and sat down.

"Just thought I'd drop by. We haven't talked—since you know—a really long time." Julia sat down opposite him and she examined his face. "You seem different, Zack."

"Yeah? How so?"

"I'm not quite sure. You just seem more—in charge." She said. Zack shrugged and looked out into the distance. "I feel like we're not even friends anymore."

"Yeah," he said dreamily. "It doesn't, does it?" Julia let out a frustrated sigh and she reached to grab his hand. Zack flinched away and stood up. He ran his finger through his short hair and shook his head. "I didn't mean to do that." He said.

"You're still mad at me." Zack laughed at that and then sat back down.

"I'm not mad at you, Julia. I'm not the type of person to stay mad at people. You know that."

"Then what is it? Why aren't we close anymore?"

"You and Satsu were my two best friends. Satsu was the person I talk about anything. You know? I came to her about girl problems and we checked out them out together. I could say anything in front of her and I wouldn't have to worry about being judged. She was like a sister to me. And you..." Zack paused. "I loved you." _I love you._

"Zack, I'm really sorry I hurt you."

"It's not about that. You didn't do anything but fall in love. I'm happy for you, Julia."

"You don't call me 'Jules' anymore." she commented.

"You have a strange knack for picking up details."

"It's a gift."

"I'm happy you two found each other. I really am. I was mad you didn't talk to me about it. You know? You and Satsu kind of drifted into your own world and I was left with what? No one."

"You and Jane—"

"I love Jane. She's a great and amazing friend and I don't know what I would've done without. She kind of, I don't know...completes me...in a platonic sense."

"You two sure flirt a lot for it being completely platonic."

"Well I'm a dashing man. Its hard for anyone not to. Even lesbians." Zack joked.

"'Man' being the operative word."

"Right," Zack said . "But honestly—I felt left out. But I guess it helped me find myself. Who I really am. What I can really do. My potentials and limitations. I'm better for it. So no, Julia, I'm not mad at you. But I don't feel like we're great friends anymore."

"Can we start over? Start by being on good terms again? I miss you so much, Zack. You have no idea."

"Of course we can."

* * *

_Zack came back with more allies then I had imagined. Our plan was for Cooper and his men to attack head first so that Julia, Zack, Valentine, and I could sneak into their HQ and assassinate the Boss. It wasn't exactly a sound plan. It wasn't even well thought out. We were going to fight a man we knew nothing about. Thing was, Zone was killed, meaning we lost all inside communication. All of Betrix's friends who would've helped us now feared being associated with us for their lives. _

"With all four of us I think we have a fighting chance." Satsu said. It was a cold night and she could feel a storm on its way. They were atop a hill looking down on the large mansion that was their enemy's HQ. There were demon guards patrolling it's front gates.

"This is going to be fun." Valentine said with a smile. "Can't wait."

"You do know," Zack said taking off his shirt. "that Valentine's a girl's name, right?" Valentine turned around showing Zack his fangs. Zack looked at it, unimpressed.

"We'll see who's the girl when I kill you."

"Stop your pissing contest." Satsu said. "We need to work together on this." Zack licked his teeth and walked away. They had another twenty minutes until they attacked. Julia was in her Slaying attired with her hair tied in a ponytail. She had gotten skinnier since the last time she'd worn them. She stood tall with a look of determination on her face. "Hey, babe." Satsu said. "You look really cute right now."

"Hey," Julia replied still looking down at the mansion.

"You're not mad at me anymore, are you?" Satsu asked reaching for Julia's hand. She held it tightly and Julia looked at her.

"No, I'm not. I'm just—if this works out, it's going to be our last mission. Then you and I have all the time in the world." Julia cupped Satsu's face and looked deep into her eyes. "And I can't wait."

"Excuse me while I go throw up." Valentine sneered and he walked away.

"Be back here in ten!" Satsu yelled after him. She looked back at Julia and held both her hands. "Don't do anything stupid, promise?"

"Only if you don't."

* * *

"Wolfram, wait up." Came Sophie's voice. Zack didn't turn around. He merely stopped walking and hung his head. "What, not looking at me anymore?"

"What do you want, Sophie?" Zack said with a short fuse. "I'm about to go my death so if you can cut your sarcastic, sardonic, and God-knows-what-else remarks to yourself I'd be extremely grateful." He said in one breath. She put a hand on his shoulder and he turned around slowly.

"I wanted to talk about Cooper…"

"Look, I'm leading you guys into a battle that's almost for sure's going to fail. I think that, in itself, is leading him to his death already. I don't want more blood on my hands, Sophie. I've had enough of that."

"Funny. I'm sure you'd be great at it since you led Anne to—" Zack's face distorted with anger. For the first time in Zack's life, he actually saw Sophie's face soften. "I didn't mean to—I'm sorry, Wolf."

"It's fine." Zack turned to leave but Sophie took his hand. She gave him a kiss that was more caring then sexual. It was a first for her.

"Good luck, _**Zack**_." Zack didn't say anything. He nodded and walked away. He didn't know where he was heading exactly, just that he wanted to breath before the big battle. Jane was with Betrix and Amy, safely guarded by three wolves and two female werewolves. The rest of them where there, at the bottom of the hill, ready for Satsu's signal to attack.

After walking for about five minutes he decided to head back to Satsu and Julia. On way he found Valentine sitting on a small boulder examining his sword. Zack walked close and looked down at him.

"Move along, dog." Valentine said without looking at him.

"You killed my brother."

"Yeah. And?" Valentine said standing up.

"I wanted you to know—that after all this—I gonna kill you. I'm going to avenge my brother's death."

"That's nice."

"Everyone seems to have forgotten that you killed the people we cared about. I'm here to tell you that I _**haven't**_."

"Like I said, that's nice." Zack walked passed him and uphill to where Satsu and Julia were standing. Julia looked good in her Slayer clothes, Zack thought. She looked professional, confident, and ready. Zack smiled to himself. Even now he was idolizing her.

"Hey, didn't see you there." Julia said when she spotted Zack.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about something. You two ready?" Zack asked as Valentine walked passed him.

"Yeah." Satsu said. "Let's do it."

* * *

Sophie took off her shirt and stripped down her jeans. She folded them and placed then behind a bush. She could feel a man gazing at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Keep looking at me and I'll rip those eyes out from their sockets." Sophie said turning around. "Yes, these are called boobs." She lifted them up with her hands. "Now, get out of my sight." The man from Zack's pack snarled at her and left. _Disgusting old men. Just like Cooper._ There was a group of female werewolves within ear shot and she walked up to them. They had their clothes on. There were probably around six or seven of them, all from Zack's pack. Sophie knew none of them liked her, but she didn't know just how much. Then again, even girls from her own pack hated her, they were just too scared of Cooper to say anything.

"You're naked." Said one of them.

"Yeah. You have clothes on."

"Why?"

"I don't want to ruin my favorite pair of jeans." Sophie said sarcastically. "Why do you think? I don't want to waste clothes."

"Or you want Zack to notice you." Sneered one of the other females.

"Okay, first of all—I don't need to take my clothes off for him to look at me. I know he checks me out. He has the hots for me." Sophie said. "And secondly, I'm not some stupid girl who's boy crazy and needs them to drool over me. No offense, assholes."

"Aren't you, now?" said another girl.

"Back off. You don't want to mess with me. I'm—"

"Cooper's sex toy. Yeah. Well, we don't work for him. And if we did—he'd never even look at your pale white ass, Red. 'Now, get out of my sight'."

"Do you want to start something, bitch?" Sophie growled.

"Yeah, we're definitely scared. You against all of us?"

"Try me, tramps." Sophie punched the girl in front of her hard. The girl fell to the ground and growled. Someone grabbed Sophie from behind. She swung her head backwards and hit the girl that had grabbed her in the nose. She spun around quickly and kicked the girl in the gut. The girl fell to the ground coughing. Another girl grabbed Sophie's flaming red hair and tripped her. She fell to the ground and a girl climbed on top of her delivering to her several punches.

"'Oh look at me I'm Sophie. I have breasts so I'm going to flog them around to get my brother's attention'." The girl pressed her boobs together and lowered them to Sophie's face, slapping her with them. "You like that? You want to suck on them? That turns you on, whore?" Everyone around her was laughing. "Little bitch." The girl punched her again and again. Sophie was sure her nose was broken and she couldn't breathe from all the blood covering her face. The girl on top of her grabbed her hair and lifted her head up. "I should tell that guy you rejected to come back and fuck you." she whispered into Sophie's ear.

"This bitch isn't even worth killing. Let's go girls. We got a war to fight." The girls left left her, laughing. Sophie rolled over, coughing and wheezing. _God, do I hate my life. I wish they'd kill me. I wish I wasn't alive. _Sophie felt the world around her spinning and she closed her eyes and fell unconscious.

* * *

Julia, Zack, and Valentine followed her as Satsu walked down the hill. Cooper was standing at the bottom of it with his pack and next to them was Zack's. Zack walked up next to Cooper and looked at his men.

"Where's Sophie?" Zack asked. Cooper shrugged.

"Probably off doing something stupid. She'll join us when she joins us." He said. "You ready, boy?"

"Yeah," Zack said. "Thanks."

"Not asking you because I care. Asking you because you better take down that son of a bitch or else I'm risking my and my pack's lives for no reason."

"Right," Zack said looking over at his own pack. "You guys listen to Cooper while you're out there tonight. Listen to him as if he were me." His pack nodded reluctantly. "Hey, Cooper." Zack said.

"What'd you just call me?"

"Father,"

"What?"

"I have a favor."

"Another one?"

"It's more of a request."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Let Sophie go."

"What?"

"After this fight, pick another girl and let Sophie go."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I want to help her."

"Help her? What? You got the hots for her, too, son? She does have a fine—"

"No. But I think she can change."

"Change? To what? You? All domesticated? Or like Martha? A tiger trying to change its stripes."

"She's bloodthirsty. She got that from you and Martha. But I...I have a feeling there's good in her. That she can become something more. She's a bitch...but maybe she can be good and a bitch."

"That's my girl you're talking about there, boy."

"That's right. Your girl. Your _**daughter**_. Please, just find another girl. There are plenty. You can even pick one from _**my**_ pack. As long as its not Sophie."

"You have a soft spot for her, kid."

"Yeah, I guess do."

"Fine. Whatever. The bitch you give me better be hot. And she better not start wanting to 'change' either."

"Yeah. Whatever." Zack looked away. He had just traded another girl's life for Sophie. Whatever it was, it was better than killing someone. _It was a necessary evil._

"Alright then!" Satsu yelled. "Let's move!" Cooper howled into the night and everyone began moving all at once. Cooper and the rest of the wolves and werewolves proceeded to the front of the mansion and stood in a row. Alarmed, the guards immediately sound a signal and out came an army of people demons. There were probably almost two hundred of them. The two groups launched an attack at each other and at that time Satsu, Julia, Zack, and Valentine crept into the mansion. They already knew that there would be some guards inside and there were. They took them out with no problems. They proceeded to the Boss's chamber, which Satsu had found out by spying through Amy. Satsu kicked the door down and the four of them ran into the room. The Boss was seated on his throne looking at them. He knew they were coming. He had waited for them. The giant of a demon stood up and picked up his oversized sword.

"The sword," Satsu whispered. Julia nodded and she drew her own sword from her back. Valentine vamped up and swung his sword in the air like mad. Zack transformed and growled. They were ready. Zack rushed forward and before the Boss could hit him, he rolled to the side. That was Valentine's cue. He ran in from the side and stabbed his sword. It sank into he Boss's side. He let out a grunt and swung his large arm and his hand smacked against Valentine's face. Julia ran straightforward and jumped over his head. An impressive feat. The Boss spun around to attack her but Satsu stabbed his back. He let out another grunt and was about to turn back but this time Julia stabbed him. Zack, seeing the chance, bit one of his legs. Growling now, the Boss grabbed Zack with one hand, picked him up, and threw him against the chamber walls like a football.

Valentine stood up and shook his head. One hit wasn't going to keep him out of the game. He rushed forward again, picking his sword up in the process and jumped. He came crashing down and his sword bit hard into the Boss's arm making the large sword fall onto the ground. Satsu rolled and grabbed it. It was extremely heavy. Heaving it, she slid it to the other side of the chamber. The Boss grabbed Valentine's face, picked him up, and slammed him hard against the ground.

"Satsu!" Julia yelled throwing her, her sword. Alarmed, the Boss followed the sword's movement as it flew across the room and into Satsu's hand. Julia grabbed Valentine's sword and rushed forward, stabbing the Boss in the leg. He fell onto his knees. Satsu jumped up into the air and came downwards, the sword cutting the Boss's head clean off. The demon collapsed onto the floor, decapitated.

Julia and Satsu stared at each other in utter disbelief. They had done it. It was over. Big Bad Boss had been killed. They ran into each other's arms and kissed passionately over the demon's headless body.

"I told you we'd be fine." Satsu said. "I told you."

"It's over. We're free." Satsu held Julia in her arms for a long while before Zack stirred. They laughed as they walked over to Zack to help him up.

"We won?" he muttered as he looked at the body. "We really did it?" The three embraced each other, friends once more. "I'm naked, guys. This is a bit awkward." Laughing, Satsu and Julia released him and he slid down onto the ground. "My body feels like every bone has been crushed."

"I'm sure your better off then Valentine. He's still sound asleep." Julia laughed. Satsu walked over and gave Valentine a kick. Grunting he pushed himself up.

"I'm surprised we actually won." Valentine said cracking his neck. "Pretty impressive."

"What have you done?" came a loud voice. "You idiots! You killed him!" A demon ran into the chamber and fell down next to the Boss's body.

"Yeah, we killed him. The fight's over." Satsu said.

"The fight isn't over." The room was suddenly flooded with Hunters. "Most of your people are killed. We kept few hostages." Cooper was thrown forward onto the ground. He was beaten half to death. "It looks like _**we've **_won."


	19. Chapter Seventeen: Legacy and Redemption

**Chapter Seventeen**

"You have got to kidding me right now." Zack said looking from side to side. "We're so screwed."

"At least we're screwed together, right?" Julia said. "Never mind. Not what I meant. I take that back." She shook her head. "Any ideas?"

"None, actually." Satsu said. "There's way too many of them."

"How about—we take down as many of them as possible before we get killed? Which I assure you they will get to eventually." Valentine said with his fangs out.

"I actually agree with him on this one. What do you two think?" Zack said getting ready to turn again.

"I say—" Satsu picked up her sword. "Hell yeah!" She rushed forward towards the overwhelming amount of demons.

* * *

**Legacy**

_The worst part about being in a war is—not being a part of it. Not true. But it sure felt like it. I sat around waiting, and waiting, and waiting. I had no idea if any of them were okay. I fidget a lot when I'm nervous or scared. Most people don't notice it. I was so nervous __**and**__ scared while we waited that even the wolves protecting us noticed. _

"This is pointless. I hate this." Jane said to Betrix. Betrix was teaching Amy basic mathematics. She said it was crucial for anyone to get a good understanding of math, even demons. Amy was an extremely fast learner. She picked up math like it was the easiest thing in the world. Jane was actually a bit jealous. She herself took years to be able to grasp some of the concepts that came so naturally to Amy.

"What? Teaching Amy math? I thought I already explained to you—"

"No, sitting around waiting for news. I hate this part."

"I know." Betrix said trying to smile at Jane. "Me too." Jane looked over at the two girls that were supposed to protect them. They looked bored and annoyed.

"Hey, I just got an idea." Jane said to Betrix.

"Yeah, what's that?"

"What if we have Amy connect us to one of them. So we can see them. Know they're safe." Betrix stopped writing and dropped her pencil. She let out a sigh and looked at Amy.

"Its up to you, Amy. We've been using your powers a lot. You can decide weather or not you want us to do that." Amy finished up her math problem and placed down her pencil. She looked at Betrix thoughtfully.

"Hmm—if I do it, can we go watch another movie?" She asked with a bright smile.

"I'm sorry, honey, but we can't. Not right now. But I can turn on the television and let you watch some cartoon."

"Okay then." She said simply, extending her hands.

"You going with me?" Jane asked. Betrix shook her head.

"I don't want to put a strain on her." She said. "You go ahead." Jane nodded and took Amy's hand. She felt herself falling, falling, and falling into a pitless tunnel. She finally came back and opened her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Betrix asked Amy.

"I didn't see anything." Jane said.

"I—there's nothing there to connect."

"What?"

"They're not awake."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know—" Amy said backing away.

"Jane," Betrix said putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're scaring her." Jane look at Betrix and then back at Amy.

"I—I'm sorry, Amy. I was—I'm just really worried about them. What does this mean, Betrix?"

"It means—they might be dead."

* * *

_I woke up tired and confused. I was in a dark room with chains on my wrists, ankles, and waist. I looked around to find Julia in the same predicament. She hadn't woken up yet. I tugged at my chains. They were too strong for me to break. I looked around. There were five Hunters, each bigger than Greg was. I tried to remember what had landed me in this situation. We had fought them. We killed a lot of them. There were probably thirty of them. We must have taken down at least half before we were beaten. Where was Zack? I looked around. He wasn't to be found. Neither was Valentine. _

Julia finally started to stir almost twenty minutes after Satsu had. She opened her eyes and looked over at Satsu. She looked as dazed and confused as Satsu was. After some time of silence Julia seemed to regain her memories and ability to talk.

"What—happened?" She asked.

"I don't know." Satsu said pulling on her chains again. "Are you okay, babe?"

"Yeah. My head—it hurts really bad."

"Mine did, too, for a while." The five Hunters looked at them and then looked away, talking to each other again. "Do you remember what happened?"

"We kicked some major butts out there." Julia said pulling on her own shackles. "But there was too many of them." Satsu nodded. "Where's Zack?"

"I have no idea." Satsu said. "There has to be a reason they're keeping us alive though. I want to know why."

"You think he's okay?" Julia asked her as she shifted into a more comfortable position.

"I hope so." Satsu replied. After they sat there for some time someone came in. It was the demon that had called them all "idiots" for killing the Boss. He said something to the Hunters and they all turned and looked at the two of them. The demon stepped forward.

"How are you two feeling?" he asked.

"Great." Satsu said. "Why are you keeping us alive? Why haven't you killed us?"

"Oh, trust me. I want nothing _**but**_ to kill you. But we have to wait for the Boss's son to come here and do that himself."

"The Boss's son?" Julia said. "He has a son?"

"Yes, he does. And from what I've heard he's almost as strong as his father now."

"Oh, son of a—"

"He's going to come down here and take revenge on your four personally."

"Zack's okay?" Satsu said.

"For now."

"This isn't going to end, is it?" Julia said leaning her head back against the wall. "I was happy. I really thought it was over. It's never over. It's just a vicious cycle."

"It will be over," the demon said. "for the lot of you."

* * *

Zack pressed his fingers against his closed eyes. His head felt like it had been run over by a cargo truck. He had just woken up. Valentine said he had already been up for some time. The two of them didn't say anything to each other for a long time; they merely sat on their own sides of the room in their shackles. Valentine finally looked over at Zack.

"Is Julia alive?" he asked. Zack took in a deep breath and then shrugged.

"I can still smell her. She's not far away. But I don't know. If they kept _**us**_ alive, I'm sure they're fine."

"Mmm," Valentine said looking over at the four Hunters. "We can take them."

"Doubtful." Zack replied. "And we're in chains. No exactly the best way to fight." Someone came into the room with his arms wide spread.

"Ah, you two are awake as well. Good." He walked up in front of them and looked down at them. "I just had a little chat with the two girls."

"Who are you?" Zack asked as he pushed himself up.

"My name is Hugo. I am the Boss's adviser."

"Great. What do you want?"

"To kill you."

"Standing right here."

"Oh, my, my—tempting yes—but I have orders. You will be dealt with accordingly."

"Yeah? And how's 'accordingly'?"

"The Boss's son will come and kill all of you. A painful, painful death."

"Boss's son?" Valentine said from where he sat. He began laughing.

"What's so funny?" Hugo asked the vampire.

"Nothing, just that this was all a stupid charade wasn't it? The Boss's son wanted his father out of the picture. When the Boss was trying to convince me to join him he told me he had something to prove. His son was pushing him towards coming here, wasn't he? He wanted his father dead so he can take control of the empire."

"Maybe," Hugo said. "I don't know. I don't care. I work for whoever is the rightful 'Boss'. Solomon is now the leader. This empire is weak as of now because of you idiots—but I will help him rebuild it once again."

"Great. Good luck on that." Zack said tugging at his chains. Hugo smiled and walked up to Zack and grabbed him by the throat. "It's disgusting that you four were able to overpower the Boss. You aren't even worthy of licking his shoes."

"Yeah? Didn't know you demons wore shoes." Hugo gave him a crushing blow to the face and Zack fell to the ground. He spat out the blood swelling in his mouth and growled.

"We gave you a sedative. I doubt you can transform right now." Zack tried—he couldn't. Laughing, Hugo left the room.

* * *

_The demon left us for some time before he returned—with the Boss's son. He called him Solomon, and the guy was just as large as the Boss had been. Hugo pointed me out as the leader of our group—I wonder how he knew? They broke me out of my chains and dragged me into the Boss's chambers._

Solomon walked heavy strides around the now locked room. He would look at Satsu and then look away again. He picked up his father's large sword and gave it a swing.

"You took care of a really big problem for me." Solomon said. "You led your team to their deaths and you save me a lot of men. I should thank you."

"What?"

"My father was a tyrant. He wasn't about to let me become leader of his empire. He wanted it all to himself. See, I've never wanted to be my father's son. I don't want to be living in the shadows of his legacy. I have been plotting and planning for as long as I can remember to overthrow him—and here you are—a human child, and you accomplished what I could not. So I am inclined to thank you—but I am also inclined to kill you."

"What?" Satsu repeated backing up against a wall.

"You dishonor me. You are but a slave girl and yet you think you had the right to do what I couldn't. I challenge you to a battle because I need to regain my honor. I will crush you like the insignificant piece of trash you are." He swung down his sword and Satsu rolled clear out of the way. His might arm came upwards and smacked her against the chin. She flew up in the air, almost hit the extremely high ceiling and fell hard on her elbows and knees. Solomon grabbed her and threw her. She felt herself hitting something. She looked up and saw the mighty sword coming down straight at her…

* * *

**Redemption**

_Okay, so I guess I had that coming. Messing with seven girls wasn't the greatest idea ever to have popped up in my head. Then again, I've become kind of suicidal. I guess I've been so caught up with enjoying my life, the need to kill, and wanting to make Cooper and Martha proud that when Martha suddenly wanted changed, it took me by surprise. She was someone I've been thriving to live up to for so long…and suddenly she's a good person? Suddenly she's changed? And then came Wolfram, or Zack now I suppose, and he just threw my life upside down. He was once like us—bloodthirsty. Maybe less than me, but the bloodlust was definitely there. And then he disappeared and came back a man, a good man and a kind man. It was exactly the type of people I hated and yet…there I was being pulled towards him; his kindness, his generosity, his courage. Everything I've know, everything I've ever cared about, everything I ever believed in was suddenly meaningless to me. My grasp with reality shattered. And there I was—suicidal and picking a fight with seven wolves. What the fuck was I thinking?_

Sophie opened her eyes slowly. Rain was beating on her back as she gasped for air. She touched her nose. It hurt like hell. She popped it back into place and let out a scream. She pushed herself up and crawled over to the bush and put on her clothes. It was soaking wet.

"Where the fuck is everyone?" Sophie coughed looking around. She couldn't find the strength to stand up. She laid back down onto the ground and let the rain hit her face. _What is the point in getting up? There's no reason to get up._ She opened her mouth and let the rain enter her mouth. _Zack!_ Sophie sprung up to her feet and looked around. No one. She ran towards the designated battlefield. It was a bloodbath. So many—dead. The field was littered with demons, werewolves, and wolves. Bodies. Nothing else. She was used to seeing dead bodies, mostly killed by her own hands, but staring at them that day she felt sick. "Zack!" she yelled. "Wolfram! Zack!" She spun around and around looking for a sign of him. There was none. _Please. Please. Please. Let him be alive. _She heard movement from her left. She ran towards it, digging through the mounts of bodies. From underneath someone was breathing. She pulled aside the last body to find Snow lying. He was bleeding. "Snow," she said patting him on the face. "These are just small wounds. Zack. Do you know where Zack is?" The wolf made a whining noise and laid still. "Shit!" She looked around again. There was a plan. Something about infiltrating the headquarters and attacking the Boss. They might be in there. "You stay right here. I'll be back for you." Sophie stood up and ran towards the entrance of the mansion. The doors were opened wide. She slipped in and walked cautiously close to the walls.

The mansion was extremely large, lavished with chandeliers and overly exaggerated windows. She was dripping wet from the storm outside and her shoes squeaked every time she walked. Annoyed, Sophie took off her shoes and socks and walked bear foot. She peaked through an opened door and found two guards. She waited until both of them had their backs turned and snuck up behind them. She broke one of their necks and grabbed the other by the crotch and covered his mouth. She glared at him and he nodded his head.

"What happened in here?"

"I can't—" she squeezed and he let out a yelp. "Okay, okay. There was an assassination. The Boss was killed. The assassins were caught."

"Where are they?"

"They're held in the cell. Two stories up. Highly guarded. You won't be able to get in by—" she punched him in the face and he fell to the ground.

"That hurt my hand." She said. "I would kill you—" she looked behind her. "But I doubt I have time. Lucky day for you, junior." She walked over him and existed the second door of the room. She climbed the stairs and found another two guards. _Shit._ "Hey, guys." She said. The two blue demon guards looked at her.

"Who are you?" they asked walking towards her.

"My name is Sophie. I'm completely lost. My little sister told me that I have to get her this top she wanted. So I left to get them but I couldn't find them. And it started raining and my car broke down. And now I'm totally lost." They were moving in closer now. "I would really appreciate it—how come you guys are blue? Is this some sort of club? I'm sorry if I'm disrupting anything." They were within a few feet now. She let her hands transform into claws and she slashed at both of them. She could feel their necks crack. "Never let your guards down, guards." She muttered as she stepped over their bodies. She found a large room and peaked in. She could see Satsu and Julia in shackles, unconscious They were guarded by five large Hunters. No sign of Zack.

Sophie quickly ran past the room and looked into the adjoining room. Zack was in it as well as Valentine, both in shackles and unconscious. There were four Hunters in there. Sophie was ready to run in when she heard something behind her. She quickly hid behind a corner and looked back. There were more Hunters. _No way I'm going to be able to save them. Well, too bad._ She was about to walk away when clenched her fist in anger. _Dammit! I can't leave Zack like that. Fuck._ _What the hell am I going to do?_ Sophie sighed and leaned against the wall. _Jane. She's our best shot. Fuck. The girl's just a stupid human. There's that military girl with her. Betrix. Maybe she can think of something._

_

* * *

_

"Are you worried about it? I'm worried about it." Jane said pacing back and forth. Betrix was on her couch with her legs and arms cross, her head leaning back, and her eyes closed. "There has to be a reason Amy can't see them right? They've casted a spell."

"If they casted a spell then they didn't they do that before?"

"They can't be dead!"

"They could be unconscious." Betrix said. "You can't connect with people who are unconscious., either"

"Okay—but they're all unconscious. So—that means they're dead." Jane fell onto the chair behind. "Oh, my God." She covered her face. "They can't be dead." Betrix was quiet for a very long time. She finally let out a sigh and sat straight up.

"I don't know what to say, Jane." She said. "Amy can't connect to the Boss either meaning he's either dead or unconscious as well. I had no idea what any of this means."

"I wish I knew what was going on." Jane said. "I wish I knew if they were safe." The three wolves protecting them were lying on the kitchen ground lazily. The two werewolves were sleeping on their chairs. Then there was a loud banging on the front door. Everyone jumped up.

"Stay here." Said one of the female werewolves. She proceeded cautiously to the door and looked through the peephole. "What the hell?" She opened the door and in came a dripping wet Sophie and Snow by her leg. Snow was hurt.

"Sophie?" Jane said. "What the hell are you doing here? You were supposed to be out there fighting with them! I knew it! You chickened out didn't you?"

"Shut the fuck up or I'm going to rip your throat out." Sophie nastily. Jane fell silent immediately. Truth was, Sophie scared the living crap out of her.

"What happened?" Betrix asked calmly.

"They killed the Boss." Everyone's faces lit up. "But they were all caught. Everyone else—were killed, I think."

"Oh, my God. You saw them? The people that were caught?"

"Yeah. Satsu, Julia, Valentine—and Zack."

"They're okay though?"

"I think they're sedated."

"What do we do?" Jane asked Betrix. "We have to save them."

"I know that." Betrix said. "How many of the Boss's men are left?"

"I took out three. I only saw about—a dozen at the most."

"We got nothing on them." Said one of the werewolves. "I'm not going to my death."

"I'm your superior, Suzan. You _**are**_ going to listen to me." Sophie exclaimed.

"Why do you want to help these people? You've never cared before. All you've ever cared about is yourself. And you know what—Cooper isn't here to back you up so I don't listen to you." Suzan spat.

"Okay then—get out of here. Whoever doesn't want to stay, get out of here." Suzan stomped out of the house. The other girl looked at Sophie for a bit and then frowned.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to die."

"Go." She left too.

"Great, now we have four wolves, one that's hurt, and a werewolf that miraculously was the only one who survived the battle." Jane said hopelessly.

"I didn't survive the battle, sweetheart. I was never in it." Sophie fell down onto the couch.

"What?"

"I was—I was beaten up—by a group of girls. I passed out and when I woke up the battle was already over." Sophie touched her nose. It still hurt.

"Why'd they attack you?" Betrix asked getting a bag of ice. One of the wolves growled at her.

"Stay." Sophie said to her. The wolf bowed its head and went back to its nap. Betrix handed Sophie the bag of ice. "Do you really have to ask? I'm an 'evil bitch', according to Zack. Of course people want to kick my ass."

"You okay?" Jane asked sitting down next to her. She tried to reach for Sophie's hand but Sophie flinched away. "Stop fussing. Let me see." Sophie lowered her hands and Jane examined her nose. "Ouch. They did a number on you."

"Yeah, well there were seven of them. Not really a fair fight." Sophie said. Jane was frowning at Sophie. Sophie stood up and threw the bag of ice onto the table. "Don't pity me." She said angrily.

"I don't pity you, Sophie." Jane said picking up the bag and handing it to her. "But I _**am **_trying to be nice."

"Well don't."

"Fine." Jane threw the bag down and walked over to the chair she was at before. "So do you have a plan? How to rescue them?" she asked Sophie.

"We head in there, wait till they wake up, free them and run. They should be strong enough to take down a few Hunters and guards. And I can help them."

* * *

_I didn't know why I was going through with it. My survival should have been the main thing I was concerned about. It used to have been the main thing—but then, there I was with two humans and three wolves trying to save Zack and his friend. Boy, have that guy changed me—just by being him. We proceeded up the stairs. The dead bodies of the guards I killed had been moved. They knew someone had been there. Security wasn't much different than earlier. Guess they don't have enough men. _

Sophie put her hand up, indicating to Jane and Betrix to stop walking. Sophie could see Satsu being dragged away by a very large demon. Betrix walked up next to them with her eyes wide open.

"That's his son." She said. "He's here…"

"The Boss has a son? Oh, great. Thanks for telling us." Sophie continued walking. _Stupid, bitch! It's like there is two of them. We're so fucked._ They walked up the stairs and stopped in front of the room where Julia was.

"What now?" Jane asked.

"You two get Julia out of those chains. She can help me. I'm going to distract the guards." She stripped naked. Jane looked away and coughed. "Oh, babe, its okay if you look. I'm flattered. I think you're hot, too, in case you're wondering." She ran her fingers through Jane's golden blonde hair and Jane moved away. "I was just playing, honey."

"Good luck," Jane said, ignoring her comment. Sophie smirked and shook her head. She took in a deep breath and turned. Werewolfed, Sophie rushed in and jumped at one of the Hunters. Jane and Betrix closed the door. _Five is a tad bit excessive. I can't even beat one. They better get Julia out of those chains quick or I'm a dead girl._ Sophie was thrown, punched, kicked, and beaten to pulp before Julia came to her aid. Together, along with the three wolves, the two of them defeated the Hunters with relative ease.

"Thanks," panted Julia. "You're Zack's sister right?"

"Not really." _Stop calling me that, people! I'm more of a—childhood friend—or something._

"You know where he is?" Julia asked.

"Yeah. Next room." Sophie replied, trying to catch her breath.

"And their guards didn't hear us?"

"Sound proof room I think."

"Let's go." Betrix said. They opened the door and went into the next room.

"Same plan." Sophie said as she transformed again. This time, with both Zack and Valentine to join them, the fight was even easier.

"Sophie?" Zack said after they killed the last Hunter. She grabbed him and pulled him in, embracing him.

"You're okay. You're okay."

"Sophie, calm down." He said. "Naked. People don't seem to understand this." Laughing, Sophie let go of him.

"I'm so glad you're okay." She said. She kissed him.

"Oh, wow." Julia said. "Um—can we deal with this incest family reunion some other time? Satsu's in trouble." They rushed into the Boss's chamber and kicked down the door. They could see Solomon's sword coming down at Satsu. Zack and Sophie tackled the large demon as Julia helped Satsu up. "Are you okay?" Satsu nodded.

"Let's get out of here."

* * *

_So I guess I'm some kind of hero. Kidding. I can never be a hero. I've killed too much, hurt too much, and I continue to want to kill. I'm like a fucking psychopath or something. I don't even know. All I know is—there's no redemption for me. How was Zack, or anyone for that matter, ever going to forgive me for the things I've done?_

"Hey," Zack said as he walked towards her. Sophie was sitting out in the backyard of Betrix's house, staring at the sky. She was sitting on the steps and he took a seat next to her.

"Hi, Zack." She said sounding much nicer than she intended.

"Everyone's sleeping it off." He said smiling kindly at her. _He's never smiled like that at me before._

"Oh—" she said. She couldn't help but to return him the smile. "Why aren't you?" Zack continued to look at her, his smile growing kinder every second.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Really? That's a first. Last time we talked you told me to—"

"Last time you hadn't saved my life."

"I haven't changed, Zack. I'm still the same girl. I'm still the 'evil bitch' you hate."

"Maybe," he said taking her hand. "But you _**can**_ change. I believe it. And I've seen it."

"I don't think I'm strong enough to." She said honestly. He put his hand around the back of her head and lowered her face to his shoulder.

"I believe in you."

"I haven't done _**anything**_ for you to believe in me."

"You save my life, Sophie." He let go of her so he could look into her eyes. "That is a very _**big**_ thing you did. You saved all of us. You're my hero, Soph. As much as you probably hate the idea. You're my friend now. And I don't give up on friends."

"So am I redeemed?" she asked him. Zack laughed and shook his head.

"No," he said. "But if you continue on this path you might be. One day. And I want to be there when you are." Tears formed in her eyes and he held her tight. She wept in his arms.


	20. Chapter Eighteen: Progress Report

**Chapter Eighteen: Progress Report**

"What is this 'school' that you speak of?" Zack asked with a smile on his face as his mom placed two plates in front of him and Satsu. Satsu laughed and took a bite of her French toast.

"You two's progress reports came home." Lilly said throwing two opened envelopes on the table. "We need to talk. _**Now**_."

"Lilly? Do _**I**_ need a talk with you, too?" Satsu said cringing at her grades. "Because I was thinking—"

"Yes, Satsu, I need a talk with you, too." Lilly sat down opposite the two of them, her face a serious expression.

"Mom—"

"Don't you 'Mom' me!" Lilly yelled at Zack. _I've never seen her mad before_, Satsu thought. "_**Especially**_ you, Zack. Have you looked at those grades? Your father was furious!"

"But—"

"No 'buts' either. You have all C's and D's. These aren't even _**acceptable**_ grades. Now, I think that I have been very lenient when it comes to your grades because I know you have a higher calling, but these are _**not**_ acceptable. Do you understand me?" Zack sunk in his chair and nodded his head. "And you." Lilly turned to look at Satsu but she was no longer glaring. "Please, honey, pick those grades up. They're really bad. I know you can do better."

"I'm sorry. I just—have been really busy. You know—with—everything."

"I know, sweetheart. But school is important, too. Okay?"

"Yeah," Satsu nodded.

"How come she doesn't get yelled at?" Zack whined. "That's not fair, Mom."

"Hey! You think I'm done with you? Keep talking and see how much more yelling you'll get!" Zack sunk in his chair again. "And at least she doesn't have any D's. Finish your breakfast." Lilly stood up and left the room.

"Sheesh!" Zack frowned. "I can't save the world _**and **_keep my grades up at the same time. And who gets progress reports two weeks before graduation?"

"It's funny seeing you being yelled at." Satsu laughed.

"Oh, funny, huh?"

"Yeah. Normally you try to be so badass. It's funny when you're all obedient and child-like."

"Shut up."

* * *

_So that started out the day with a kick back to reality. There was school, homework, and drama. Just like old times before I became a Slayer. As much as I tried to understand my homework, it just seemed impossible. It was probably because it was already the middle of May and I had barely been in school but a few times. Graduation was fast approaching and if I didn't get my grades up then I would get kicked out of the college I had been accepted to. So I called the only person I knew who could possibly help me understand Pre-Calculus, Chemistry, and Physics all in one sitting—Jane._

"It's really simple." Jane said pointing at the mind numbing equation. "See?"

"No. No see." Satsu let out a groan and let her head fall onto the table. "I am so screwed."

"Look, I'll tutor you from now until finals. You'll do fine." Jane said smiling at her.

"I'd really rather deal with Solomon than this."

"We haven't heard from Solomon in weeks. He's probably gone back to his dimension. I'm pretty sure he needs to rebuild his army before he's going to attack us again."

"So we just stay around and wait? Awesome."

"No," Jane said pointing back at the equation. "We stay around and get your grades up."

"Okay, but how about a break? We've been at this for like a gazillion hours."

"It's been like twenty minutes, hon—" Jane closed her eyes. "Satsu." There was a moment of silence in which time Jane's face went through many different shades before finally resting on pink. "I—slip of tongue. Sorry."

"No," Satsu said with a weak smile. "Completely okay. I mean—we used to do this a lot, you know? When we were together. Studying and all—" She let out a little chuckle. "Guess that's why my grades were so much better back then. I had you around."

"Yeah," Jane said fiddling with her pencil. _She looks so sad._

"Hey," Satsu said touching Jane's hand softly. "Are you okay?" _Stupid question. Stupid question!_

"Yeah," Jane said weakly. "Yeah. I mean—I'm fine."

"I know we haven't talked about it—you know—since it happened."

"Can we just—" Jane looked away and slightly stomped her feet against the ground. "Get back to the math? Please?"

"Are you still mad at me?" Satsu asked.

"Satsu, I really—" Jane said, trying to avoid the question. She was shifting uncomfortably in her chair. Satsu took her hand.

"I'm sorry, Jane. I realize I haven't told you that. I'm _**really**_ sorry about everything."

"No your not." Jane replied.

"What? Of course I am."

"Why? You're happier now, right?" Satsu didn't answer her. _Yes_. "So why would you be sorry."

"I'm sorry about how I did it. About how everything went down. I care about you, Jane."

"Don't—don't say that. Don't tell me that."

"Why? I _**do**_."

"I'm not over you." Jane blurted out. She wasn't looking at Satsu. Satsu didn't know what to say. "Look—I accept your apology. And I _**really **_want to help you bring your grades up. And I'll do my best to. But we can't be really good friends. And you can't tell me about Julia and stuff...or tell me you care about me. We can't start over. I can't do any of that. I still have really strong feelings for you. I can't deal with that. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay. Now, let's start over with this math problem."

* * *

Satsu opened the door very softly, slipped in, and closed it undetected. She tiptoed past the bed and into the small restroom where Julia stood looking at the bathtub being filled up. She was naked from head to toe and Satsu couldn't help but stare at her bottom as she wrapped her arms around Julia's waist from behind.

"Boo," she said. Julia leaned back against her girlfriend and let out a soft moan.

"I've had a horrible day." She said. "Parents were yelling at me like crazy about my grades. Stupid progress reports."

"Yeah, everyone's getting their butts kicked because of it. Well except for Jane—she somehow still managed to keep a 3.8 GPA. That girl's way too smart for her own good."

"You keep talking about her like that and I'm going to get jealous." Julia said as she turned around and faced Satsu.

"Babe, looking the way you do—you got nothing to worry about." Satsu said.

"Oh, so it's just my looks?"

"Yep." Silence. "I'm kidding, babe. C'mon." Julia frowned and stepped into the bath. "Are you serious? You're mad?" Julia closed her eyes and stretched out in the warm water. "Babe!"

"Come in here." She said. Satsu took off her clothes and stepped into the surprisingly hot water. She laid down atop Julia and kissed her gently on the neck.

"Are you mad at me? I was just joking—"

"I'm not mad at you. I know you were just kidding."

"So why are you being all weird? Babe, come on. For _**once**_ everything in our life is going smoothly again. Boss's dead. Solomon's gone MIA. Things are going good. I really want to just be happy. So can we skip this part to you just telling me what's wrong?"

"Okay." Julia said reluctantly. "I guess—I've been fooling myself into thinking that the Boss could be our last job. That we could be normal kids again if we took him out—but the truth is we're never, ever going to be normal again."

"Sure we can." Satus said. "We just got to take out Solomon when he comes back and—"

"Then what? His son will come for revenge. Or his uncle. Or whatever. It's a cycle we can't break free from. We've created enemies and there's no way we're going back to being anything that resembles normality."

"So what are you saying?"

"Let's make the best of this situation. Let's forget about having a normal life. If we have a calling—then let's live it out to its fullest. As long as I'm with you I don't care about anything else." Julia said and to that Satsu smiled.

"I love you, too, babe."

* * *

Jane walked slowly across the room and opened the door. It creaked loudly. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Her father was still asleep. She continued to walk through the living room and opened the front door. This time, it was quiet. She slipped through and closed it. Letting out a sigh of relief, she jumped into her car and drove off. Her parents had been getting more and more angry at her recent founding of a social life. They were used to their daughter staying at home and studying and now her grades had dropped a tad too much for their liking and she was out all the time. Jane had to find ways to sneak out because her parents had "grounded" her, a word never spoken by them before. It was early morning as she drove to Zack's. She knocked on the door and waited. It opened slowly to reveal Sophie in a tank top and underwear. Nothing else. Jane had never noticed how large Sophie was. Not fat, Jane found her body rather attractive, but she looked strong and built. Her pale skin looked somehow extra pale that warm morning. She also hard large breasts, which Jane tried her best not to look at.

"Hi, Janie. How lovely it is to see you." Sophie had on the fakest and most exaggerated smile Jane had ever seen. "You look beautiful today." Sophie said twirling her flaming her. _She's trying to make me uncomfortable again. This gets so old._

"Soph, stop it." Zack said. He came up behind the door. He had his hand on her hip, to which Jane quickly noticed. He immediately moved his hand away upon seeing her gaze. "Hey, Jane." Zack said stepping out and he gave her a hug. "Long time no see."

"Yeah, long time no see, Janie." Sophie said enthusiastically.

"Hey, Zack. It's _**really**_ good to see you. Sorry I haven't been around. My parents are driving me _**insane**_. And if they saw a guy over—man."

"Funny how ironic that is." He said putting his arm around her shoulders. "Come on in."

"Where are your parents?" Jane asked as she sat down on the large couch. Sophie sat down directly next to her. Jane let out a humorless laugh and moved over a few inches. Zack was smiling the whole time and he shook his head.

"They're out. Satsu's over at Julia's."

"Oh." Jane said looking away.

"Yeah, she told me you two had a talk. Didn't give details though."

"Yeah—it was nothing." Sophie stroke Jane's blonde hair and Jane let out an angry sigh.

"Why are you torturing me?" Jane said angrily.

"I just think you're cute."

"As in you want to do me cute?"

"No—not really. Just fun cute. Easy to mess around with."

"Will you control her—_**please**_—Zack?"

"Sophie."

"Oh, fine. You're never any fun, Zack." She walked passed him and into his room.

"Sometimes she acts like a twelve year old. It's weird." Zack said looking after her.

"Why is she here?"

"Um—" Zack's face turned red.

"Your parents aren't home. She's half naked. Got the picture. Gross." Jane shook her head. "Wow. I really did _**not**_ need to know that."

"Whatever. So we need to catch up. I feel like we haven't talked in ages."

"It's been like two weeks, Zack."

"Hey, that's a long time for best friends not to talk."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I was trying really hard to get my grades up before progress reports came home."

"Those damned letters." Zack said. "My mom nearly bit my head off."

"I nearly bit your other one off earlier, remember?" came Sophie's voice from his room.

"Ew!" Jane yelled. "Good God I'm so grossed out right now." She shivered.

"Sorry, about her. She's projecting."

"Tell me about it. Hey, you want to go out sometime? Do something _**fun**_ for once? I'm really sick of home."

"Thought you were grounded."

"I'm here aren't I?"

"Tsk, tsk. I'm a bad influence on you."

"Totally. So yeah?"

"Sure."

"No Sophie."

"I heard that!" Sophie yelled from her room.

"I liked you better when you were evil!" Jane yelled back.

"How about we do something as a group?"

"Yeah," Jane said with a shrug. "That sounds fun, too."

* * *

_I got a call from Zack at ten in the morning. Satsu was already gone when I answered the phone lazily. He said that he wanted all of us to get together and do something, something that didn't involve Slaying. I told him I'd go. He asked me if I could invite Betrix, which I did. She told me she was busy. It was just going to be the four of us, just like old times._

"Sophie," Julia said as she got out of the car. "Didn't expect you here."

"That's what I said." Jane said rolling her eyes.

"Yeah." Sophie said, rather seriously.

"Have you guys heard from Satsu? I haven't heard from her at all since I woke up. I tried her phone a couple of times. She never answered."

"No, I haven't heard anything. I've been with Jane the whole day."

"She's prolly just busy doing something." Julia said. "Whatever. What'd you guys want to do?" She asked Zack.

"I was thinking dinner. I'm starved." He replied.

"I am, too." Sophie said to Zack, grabbing his arm. Zack's eyes caught Julia's and he pulled his arm gently away. Julia observed Sophie's face fall.

"Dinner sounds great." Julia said quickly. "What did you have in mind, Sophie?" she asked her.

"Whatever." Sophie said softly. "I don't care."

"I mean—you want burgers or—"

"I said I don't care!" Sophie spat angrily. Julia nodded and turned to Zack.

"I think burgers sound great." Zack said. Sophie let out a sigh of frustration.

"I'm going to the restroom." She walked off.

"She acts like a twelve year old with a crush and a bad temper." Jane said looking at Sophie's back with disgust as she walked away.

"She's just—trying to get use to being friendly." Zack defended her.

"Oh—she's horrible." Jane said.

"Guys," Julia said. "Stop it. I'm going to the bathroom, too." Julia left the them and proceeded after Sophie. She entered the empty restroom to find Sophie glaring angrily at the mirror. She hadn't noticed Julia yet.

"Why? Why are you so stupid!" Sophie yelled at her reflection. "They're never going to except you. It's the same as before. They only tolerate you because of a fucking guy. Zack can't even be around you in public. Fuck!" She washed her face with cold water and glared at herself again. "I can't do this. I can't fucking do this." Her hands were shaking and her eyes began to turn into the familiar black. She began to growl deep in her throat.

"Hey, Sophie." Julia said as brightest she could. Sophie took in a breath of surprise as her eyes began to calm and her red hair grew lighter. "I'm really sorry about how Jane treats you. She's just protective of Zack." Julia stood next to Sophie and gave her a kind smile.

"I don't care about them. Or you." Sophie said washing her face again. "You people don't fucking matter to me."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Julia said. "Because I think you are a really good friend. You came back and saved us. Must've took some guts." Julia could tell Sophie was warming up to her. "If I were to give you a progress report," Julia said almost laughing. "I'd give you an A for how well you're doing adapting to everything." The two laughed at how lame that statement was.

"Thank you." Sophie said, sounding much more like an adult now then moments ago. "I can tell you're a really great girl. I can see why Zack's still in love with you." Sophie gave her a weak smile and the two walked out of the restroom together and joined the others.

Julia got back home and laid down on her bed later that night. She hadn't heard from Satsu all day. Worried she tried dialing her number again. No response. She let out a sigh and sent her another text, the fifth on of the day. Nothing. Julia sat up and turned on the lights. She was getting worried. She fumbled around the restroom for a while, trying to get her mind off of it. She walked back into her room and noticed there was a piece of paper on her nightstand. It was Satsu's progress report. Julia flipped it over. There was a note.

_**Hope you had a swell day. Tomorrow will be even better. That's a promise. **_

_**Meet me at the usual spot. I have a surprise for you and she goes by the name of Satsu. – Valentine**_

"Oh, God." Julia muttered as she dropped the letter onto the ground. "Satsu—"


	21. Chapter Nineteen: Third Time's the Charm

**Chapter Nineteen: Third Time's the Charm**

_**Present:**_

_What the hell happened?_ The girl with busy dark hair sat up and looked around the strange room. There were flowers around her, all types of them. She put a hand to her face. It was icy cold. _Who am I? _The girl stood up and observed the room. She was in some sort of cave. She proceeded to the entrance. Light was out. It was too bright for her. She looked away and walked back towards the bed. _My name is…I don't know._ _What am I doing here?_

_

* * *

_

_**Earlier - Sunday 4:23 AM:**_

_Make up sex rocks. Not going to lie. It's amazing. I woke up reenergized and feeling on top of the world. I rolled over to find Julia still asleep. I smiled and brushed her bushy brown hair. She looked beautiful asleep. She made a noise and rolled over, turning her back to me. _

Satsu sat up and went to the window. It was still dark. She could see a figure outside. Someone was looking up the window at her. _It better Valentine or I'm going to hurt him._ She went downstairs and opened the front door. The figure was still standing in the darkness, cloaked in brown. Upon seeing Satsu, the figure walked away.

"Hey!" Satsu yelled. It didn't turn back. Satsu ran after the figure but it had disappeared. "Strange." Satsu murmured to herself. She turned her head left to find long rows of cars. No cloaked figure. She turned to her right. More cares. No figure.

"You know better than to wander the streets by yourself at night, little girl." Came a voice. It was directly behind her. She swung around and her fist connected with the voice's face. It was Valentine. "Balls!" he yelled. Satsu laughed at that.

"'Balls'? Really?" she laughed. "What the hell are you doing lurking the night for?"

"I'm a vampire."

"Oh, right." Satsu said. "Well, what are you doing _**here**_?"

"Stalking."

"Julia?"

"Yes."

"Right." Satsu took in a deep breath and then shrugged. "Fine. Proceed. I'm going back to bed."

"You don't care?"

"Well, better you than that cloaked figure I saw earlier. You didn't happen to see it by any chance?" Valentine shook his head. "Never mind then. Just keep an eye out for any competition?"

"Uh—sure."

"Great. Night, Val."

"Night." He said. Satsu began walking towards the door. "Did you say there was one cloaked figure?"

"Yeah."

"Because I see eleven." Satsu turned around.

"Balls." She said rolling her eyes. "Alright, are you going to help me, Valentine?"

"Do you think they're going to hurt Julia?"

"I wouldn't take the chance. Would you?"

"No." The cloaked figures all took off their hoods. Vampires.

"Oh! Goodie! I haven't dusted one in _**so**_ long. No offense, Val."

"None taken." Valentine said. Satsu charged forward, pulling the stake out from her pocket and stabbing one in the heart. It became dust in seconds. She dodged two punches and got kicked in the gut. It sent her back a few steps. Didn't hurt much. She spun around.

"Yo! Val! You going to help?"

"Oh, right." Valentine said walking forward. He grabbed one by the collar and threw him. Then, when he was close enough to Satsu, he punched her. She fell to the ground, blood coming out of her mouth. That one hurt.

"What the hell?" Satsu said standing up. Two grabbed her arm. She tossed them.

"That was for hitting me earlier." Valentine said. "This is for fun." He kicked her square in the gut. She flew backwards and hit a car. He grabbed her and threw her. She landed on her elbows and rolled a few times before regaining her balance. A vampire grabbed her. One punched her. She kicked the one in front of her and threw the one holding her over her head. Valentine flew forward and gave her another blow. She hadn't gotten a single hit in yet. _Are the neighbors not hearing this?_ She tried to throw Valentine a punch but another one got in the way instead and took the hit for him. Valentine kneed her. She fell again. This time he grabbed her by the throat and pulled her up off her feet. Desperately clawing at his hand to release her, Satsu felt herself suffocating. Using the remaining of her strength, she flipped backwards and kicked him in the chin. Picking up her stake she dusted two vampires with ease. More appeared out of nowhere. _Are you kidding me?_

"Is this some kind of sick joke, Valentine? Because it's not funny." Satsu scanned around her. There were some fifteen vampires not including Valentine.

"You see, funny thing." Valentine said raising his hands. "The weeks since our bonding session in chains, I came to realize something. I'm somewhat of a celebrity amongst my kind." He looked around him. "All these simple vampires here have heard of my story."

"Yeah, what story's that?"

"I have tasted Slayer _**twice**_. They're willing to follow me because they hope to the devil that some of my luck would rub off on them. _**And **_because I have connections. You, for instance."

"You're disgusting."

"A bit, maybe. Diabolical mostly...like I said." He paused. "See, you have been quite a nuisance, you. You're the only thing that's been in my way of getting what I want. _**Julia**_."

"Oh, yeah. Like that creepy fantasy of yours is every going to become reality."

"_**It will**_." He said with a smile. "And you're my ticket to it."

"Yeah?" Satsu said dusting a vampire and kicking another unconscious. "How's that?"

"Oh, if I tell you, dear, then it will no longer be a surprise, will it? For either of you."

"Valentine—don't do this." Satsu said hopelessly. She knew she wasn't about to win this fight. And if she yelled out for help then more innocent people were going to get hurt. She was surrounded by them. "Please."

"They're here because they want to share you. They want your blood. They want to bask in the magnificence that is Slayer."

"You're going to let them drain me? How's that going to help you get Jules?"

"Now, now. Don't try to ruin my surprise, will you?"

"So what if I resist?"

"We'll over power you. And I can't promise you they won't get angry and take a bit. If you go willingly, then I can _**promise**_ and _**assure**_ you that you will not be harm so long as you _**and**_ Julia participate accordingly."

"Okay, fine."

* * *

_**Sunday 10:23 PM:**_

"Oh, God." Julia muttered as she dropped the letter onto the ground. "Satsu—" She rushed out of the room and into her car. She drove fast, not knowing if it would make a difference if she found him now or later. _Valentine, you son of a bitch. If anything happened to her I'm going to make you suffer._ Stepping on the gas pedal, Julia made a sharp turn and the car flipped over. Coughing from the impact, Julia kicked the door open. It flew straight out of its hinges and hit a fire hydrant. Water shot in the air and fell like a waterfall. Dripping wet, Julia ran as fast as she could.

The woods was a fairly far distance from her car and it took her nearly two hours of continuous running before she made it. She spun around and around trying to find any sign of Valentine. Any sign of Satsu. There was none. "Valentine!" Julia screamed. She tripped on something and fell onto her knees. Panic rose in her throat like a knot tying ever so tighter. "Satsu!" She was trembling from the cold as the wind hit her wet body. They were nowhere to be seen.

Julia stood up, her legs shaking like mad. She dug her hand into her pockets and pulled out her phones shakily. It was broken and wet. Letting out a frustrated cry she threw her phone, all the while her throat getting tighter and tighter. She fell onto the ground again, trying to catch her breath. She was hyperventilating as she knelt helpless on the ground.

"Good seeing you here so soon. I knew you couldn't wait a whole day before seeing me." Came Valentine's voice.

"Valentine!" Julia sprung up and stared into his cold, soulless eyes. "Wh—where's Satsu?"

"Safe. For now."

"Why are you—?"

"Because—I want you."

"Please, let her go."

"I will—if you tell me you want to make love to me and have me turn you."

"You said you wouldn't force me."

"What I said was that I will only do it if you tell me to. Now—tell me, or she dies. There are over a dozen vampires with her that are just _**itching**_ to take a few gulps of that magnificent blood. Tell me or she's a goner." Julia stood dumbstruck. She didn't know what to do. _My life or Satsu's?_

"How do I know she's alive? That she will be if you—?"

"My word. And plus—they're scared dead of me. After I drink your blood again those vampires won't think to double cross me."

"I—" Julia was scared, and rightly so.

"Tell me, Julia."

"Make love to me and turn me." Julia said closing her eyes.

"Say it with more passion."

"Please make love to me right here and turn me."

"I will." Julia stood looking at the vampire with her heart thumping in her chest. Her legs were shaking as she clenched her jaw. Valentine walked up to her slowly and placed a hand on her face. He ran his lips gently against hers.

"Tell me you want to make love to me again." Tears ran down her cheeks as opened her mouth slowly.

"I want to make love to you." She said shakily.

"Tell me you want me to turn you." He whispered in her ears.

"Turn me." She said. He combed her hair away from her neck and licked it. He licked it again. "Please," she said through her tears. "Just do it." He smiled and bit in for the third time. She clenched her fists and he pushed her against a tree and drank. He ran his hand over her breasts. He threw her on to ground and laid atop her. He unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them down to her ankles. She tried fighting back but she couldn't. Her strength had left her as she laid beneath him, helpless. He unzipped his pants and she let out a moan as he went in. "You feel amazing." He said. He went in again. She let out another moan. "And warm. I haven't felt this warm in a long time." He went in a third time and this time she couldn't even make a sound. Tears were streaming from her eyes down the side of her face as the vampire raped her. She felt her life trickle away. Just when she thought the lights would go out after he had finished having sex with her, she felt his blood fill her mouth. She gagged as the iron-tasting liquid ran down her throat. It was smooth and cold. _**That **_was when it went dark…

* * *

_**Present:**_

_My name is…Julia. Julia Maze. I was a Slayer—now I am a vampire. _She reached her hand to feel her neck. It was smooth. The puncture wounds had healed. She closed her eyes as she remembered Valentine raping her. She tried breathing but found it unnecessary. _Valentine._ She imagined his face and clenched her fist. _He's going to pay._ A group entered the cave in cloaks. The first to throw off the hood was Valentine.

"She's safe. You aren't supposed to be up till nightfall."

"Guess I'm special." Julia looked at the other's faces. They were vampires as well. "I'm guessing you've become quite strong?" She asked Valentine.

"Quite a bit stronger, yes. About the strength of a Slayer. Give or take a bit."

"Good, then you'll put up a fight before I end your miserable existence slowly and painfully." Julia cracked her neck.

"Oh, dear. I have tons of vampires on my side. And plus—_**I'm your sire**_."

"You're also my rapist. Which—kind of makes it even between us." Julia walked up slowly towards him. Two vampires tried to block her way. She ripped their heads off as if they were made of Playdough. They turned to dust. She ripped each and every one of their heads off like they were toys until she finally reached Valentine. Horror was ridden on his face and he immediately threw the hood over his head and ran out of the cave, leaving Julia to stare after him in the blinding hot sun. She would have to wait until nightfall. This game was going to be _**fun**_.


	22. Chapter Twenty: Katana

**Chapter Twenty: Katana**

Satsu opened her eyes and saw the brightly lit sky. It blinded her momentarily as she tried to adapt to the suddenness of the light. She felt as if every bone in her body was fractured. She stared up at the sky for a long time, listening to the birds' chirps and the wind rustling the leaves as they swayed back and forth. She heard something, an animal maybe. She didn't really care. She felt something warm and wet against her hand. She turned her head slightly to find a large white dog with piercing yellow eyes. No, it wasn't a dog. It was too big to be a dog. It was a wolf. It was Snow.

"Oh, my God. Satsu. We've been worried sick." Zack knelt down beside her and examined her. "You're hurt really bad." He turned her neck back and forth. "You're going to be okay. Okay? Sophie," Zack handed her his phone. "Call Jane and Betrix. We need to get her to a hospital, _**now**_." Zack lifted her easily into his arms and carried her to his car. The last thing she remembered was Sophie looking back at her on their way there. She looked worried. _Why is she worried?_

_

* * *

_

Jane sat looking at her hand. Her heart was thumping in her chest as she tried desperately to make a fist. She couldn't. She felt as if all the energy in her body had been drained away. Betrix was sitting next to her, deadly silent. Amy's head was in her lap. She was sound asleep. They had been waiting for hours. It was already past eleven at night now. Jane looked over at Zack. He was sitting across from her. Sophie was next to him, holding his hand and stroking it gently as if to comfort him. His eyes caught hers and she opened her mouth, wanting to say something. She closed it, deciding not to.

"Are you guys hungry?" Sophie asked, her voice nicer than Jane had ever heard it. Amy stirred and looked over. She wasn't asleep, merely closing her eyes.

"I am." She said with a frown.

"What did you want, sweetheart? I'll go get it for you." Sophie let go of Zack's hand and stood up.

"I want pizza."

"I'll see if I can find some for you. You guys want anything?" she asked them. Betrix shook her head and so did Zack. _I need to take a breath._ "Jane?"

"No, I'm okay. Thank you. Um—can I go with you?"

"Yeah, of course." Sophie said with a smile. _She's really nice when she's nice. _"Come on." Sophie said with a gesture of her head. Jane stood up and followed her. They went down the elevator in silence and into Zack's car. She had the keys. She started the engine and then looked over at Jane with a sympathetic frown. Jane looked away and let out a sigh before she felt a knot tighten in her throat. She felt tears roll down her cheeks as she gasped for air. Letting out a groan, Jane slammed her head back against the headrest. Sophie continued looking at her for a long time before she placed her hand on Jane's shoulder.

"I don't know what I'm going to do if anything happens to her—" Jane said through her sobs. "I care about her so much."

"I know, sweetheart." Sophie replied. "She's a Slayer. She's strong. She'll be okay."

"Did you see what they did to her?" Jane cried.

"Yeah,"

"All those puncture holes around her body. Everywhere. They almost drained her dry before they left her for dead." Jane didn't even want to imagine what Satsu had gone through. They had feasted on her body like she was an animal. They drank almost every last drop of her before they left her in the woods, beaten, battered, and on the brink of death. If Snow hadn't found her when he did…

"I'm really sorry." Sophie said.

"You're being really nice."

"I'm trying something new."

"You're being sincere, too."

"Trying something new." She repeated. The two of them laugh even through Jane's tears.

"Thank you." She said to Sophie. Sophie smiled kindly and nodded. She reached over and gave Jane a kiss on her wet cheeks.

"She'll be okay." She said.

* * *

_Night came and I left that God-forsaken cave. Finding Valentine was going to prove to be difficult. I didn't know where he would go. Only person I was certain I needed to find—and I thought would be relatively easy—was Satsu. I made way into the night, through the woods and to their house. Zack was out. I tried everyone else. They were all out. And I couldn't go into their houses. I hate vampire restrictions. Went back to the cave anticipating the sun coming back up and waited. Night came again. I thought of the vampires that I had destroyed. They all had blood on their mouths. Undoubtedly Satsu's._

Julia went up the elevator. It was midnight. She could see Zack, Betrix, and Amy. She wasn't sure if she wanted to walk up to them. But she needed to know where Satsu was.

"Zack," Julia said walking up to him. Zack stood up and stared at her, dumbstruck.

"Jules!" he ran forward and pulled her in tight. She could feel his heart beating. She could hear the blood running through his veins. _It's Zack, Julia. It's Zack._ "Where the hell have you been?"

"Busy—" she replied. "I'm sorry. Satsu—?"

"She's in surgery. Busy? What the hell do you mean?"

"I was captured by Valentine. Look—I'm fine. How is she?"

"Doctors say she's critical. She's lost way too much blood and they don't know if she can pull through it. She's got puncture wounds all over her, Jules." Zack ran his hand through his hair. "I want them to pay."

"They have. I killed them. All of them. Except for Valentine. I need to find him."

"You took out—a nest of vamps amp-ed on Slayer by yourself?" Zack asked, looking at her unbelievably. "How?" Julia didn't answer him. She had just realized that she had not eaten in a whole day.

"I need to go."

"Go? Where?"

"I'm hungry."

"Sophie and Jane went to get food."

"I don't want their food."

"You don't know what they're getting."

"I need to go." Julia continued walking despite Zack's constant calling of her name. She bumped passed Sophie and Jane and continued running. She went into the elevator and was heading down for the entrance. She doubled back her trail and made it out of the building. There was a man smoking a cigarette. He looked over at her as she panicked out of the hospital and turned around in circles. She was getting _**really**_ hungry.

"You okay, miss?" He looked about in his late twenties. He was a handsome man with long blond hair and a five o'clock shadow. He seemed genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine." Julia replied. She stared at him. He looked so warm. He threw his cigarette on the floor and stepped on it.

"Are you sure? You look like hell. No offense. You should get inside."

"I'm _**fine**_." Julia repeated, taking a few steps back. He rose up his hands.

"I'm not going to hurt you, miss."

"I know."

"Then why are you backing up away from me?"

"No reason. I just..." She hesitated. He looked _**really**_ warm. "Can I get a smoke?"

"Oh—nicotine jitters?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I lost my lighter. I had to borrow someone's."

"I have one in my car. Come with me." She took his hand and smiled flirtatiously at him. He nodded and followed her to the deserted parking lot. She pushed him against a car.

"Whoa, here?" he said, as if he already had sex in his mind.

"Yes." She moved her face towards his neck and bit. He tried letting out a scream but she pressed her hand against his mouth and pushed him down onto the ground. She slid him under the car and continued to drink his amazingly warm blood. It was sweeter than sugar. She felt him weaken and go limp. She didn't stop. She was starving for more. After drinking her fill, she slid out of the car. She touched her face. It was full of blood. She looked at the car window. There was no reflection. _This is going to be a bitch in the mornings_.

* * *

"Was that Julia? What's her rush?" Jane said looking back at the girl running into the elevator. Jane turned to look at Sophie. She looked dead serious. They quickly got to Zack and Betrix. Zack was staring at the elevator door as if he had x-ray vision.

"She just—said she was hungry and left." Zack said to Jane. "Just like that. She didn't even seem all that upset about Satsu's condition."

"That's because she's not Julia." Sophie said. "You should've known better than anyone."

"What do you mean that's not Julia?" Jane said. "What's she talking about, Zack?" Zack looked at Sophie for a long time without saying anything at all.

"She's dead." Sophie said.

"What?" Jane asked again, looking bewildered at Sophie.

"Vampire." She said looking back at the elevator. "That was no human."

"Zack?" Jane said looking desperately over at him for disagreement. Zack still didn't reply, he stood there like a statue, unmoving. Betrix walked over to Zack and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Is what she saying true?" Zack nodded slowly and solemnly.

"Yeah, it's true." Zack said, finally taking his eyes away from the elevator door. "Here comes that doctor." They all turned to face the woman walking towards them.

"How is she, Doctor?" Betrix asked, stepping forward.

"Surgery went as best it could." The woman said, as if bracing them for the worse to come. "She's lost an incredible amount of blood. Her brain didn't have oxygen for a long time. Chance that she's going to wake up is—"

"That's enough." Zack said stopping. The doctor bowed her head apologetically.

"I want to see her." Jane said. "Please."

"Um—"

"_**Please**_."

"Yeah, okay. Come this way."

* * *

_I'm not full yet. God, damn it. That girl…she looks really pretty. And delicious._ Julia walked up to the waitress. The girl was rushing back and forth trying to fill the orders of the busy restaurant. Julia smiled at her and sat down at the table close to her. The girl smiled back and walked up to her.

"Hi, may I take your order?"

"Yes," Julia said, looking at her name tag with exaggeration. "Stephanie. I would _**love**_ for you to take my order—if you'd join me for a cup of coffee. On me."

"Oh—" the girl was blushing. "I—" she looked over her shoulder. "I'm off my shift in thirty minutes. We could go to the coffee place across the street. It'd be open and I don't like being here. If you don't mind waiting." Julia's smile widened and she nodded her head.

"That sounds great." Thirty minutes later the girl was in her normal clothes, which consisted of a rather tight fitting shirt and jeans. She smiled happily upon seeing Julia and the two walked across the street into the coffee shop. They both got regular hot coffee and sat outside the shop. The girl looked rather nervous at Julia's intense gaze.

"I haven't ever been—asked out by a girl before." She said blowing her scorching hot coffee. Julia wasn't touching hers. "Mostly really annoying guys. Could you really tell? You know—that I'm gay?"

"No," Julia said simply. "All I saw was a really pretty girl and thought I'd take my chances." Julia gave her wink. Stephanie laughed and shifted in her seat.

"You're really pretty, too." She said. Julia continued to gaze at the girl. "Was that weird? I'm sorry."

"No." Julia said quickly. "I was just distracted." Blushing again, the girl took a sip of her coffee.

"Coffee here tastes awful."

"Then why'd you want to go here?" Julia asked.

"Well because it's so awful no one ever goes here. And I wanted to be able to talk to you. In private."

"Well—" Julia said. "There's always another place that's quieter." Twenty minutes later they were in Stephanie's car driving back to her apartment. For a girl who's never been with anyone else, she sure was aggressive. She pushed Julia against her apartment door and kissed her hungrily. She opened the door and tried pulling Julia in. Julia shook her head. "I only go into people's homes when I'm invited."

"You're invited. Get in here." Stephanie pulled her in and closed the door behind them. "So how do you want to do this? I've never done it before."

"Well, guess you're a natural then." Julia said and she kissed her just as passionately. She pushed her onto the coach and climbed on top of her. "First thing I'm going to do is that off that top." She rolled the shirt off Stephanie and cupped the girl's breast. Stephanie was a slight bit on the chubby side, but her beauty more than made up for it. The girl covered her stomach but Julia held her hand and moved it away slowly. Julia gave her a kiss on the stomach and licked it. She unbuttoned the waitress's jeans and pulled it down.

"Good Jesus, you're good." Stephanie said gripping the coach tightly. "How'd you learn how to do that?"

"Experience." Julia replied after she took off her own shirt and pants. "You're turn." _I like this one. I might keep her. She's worth a bit more than a meal. And she's a very fast learner._

_

* * *

_

Satsu opened her eyes again to find four faces looking down at her. Zack, Jane, Sophie, and Betrix all smiled widely as she heard someone yelling something. A female doctor rushed in and checked her eyes. The doctor looked happy as well.

"It's a miracle." The nurse said to Zack. Everyone was laughing. What was so funny? What was so happy?

"You're okay." She heard Jane sob, holding her hand and kissing it. "You're really okay." Satsu found it hard to breath. "We thought you were gone but—you woke up."

"What—happened to me?"

"You were attacked, Satsu." Zack said. "And your blood was drained." He gave her a knowing look and she nodded. "You're okay now."

"Julia. Where's Julia?" Satsu asked almost automatically.

"She's not here right now, sweetheart." Betrix said combing hair away from Satsu's face. "You just focus on getting better, okay?" She gave Satsu a kiss on the forehead. "I'm going to take Amy home. She needs to rest. We'll be back in the morning. If anything…_**anything**_ happens at all, you give me a call okay?" They nodded and Betrix left the room with Amy. Sophie looked down at Satsu and gave her a smile and proceeded to sit down on a chair across the room. Zack gave Satsu a kiss on the forehead as well and went to sit with Sophie. Only Jane remained by her bedside, holding her hand as if it were her only connection to the world.

"I feel—" Satsu said weakly. "Really tired. But I can't fall asleep." Jane smiled at her gently.

"You've been asleep for a really long time."

"Feels like it." She said staring up at the dimly lit ceiling.

* * *

Julia stared at Stephanie's lifeless body. It was about time. Stephanie began to stir and she sat up, looking at Julia with a strange expression. She lifted her hands and looked at them. She let out a noise and put her hand up to her mouth.

"I feel different." Stephanie said standing up. She looked around the dark room. "I can see things so clearly. It's pitch black in there, though."

"I turned you into a vampire." Julia replied no moving from her seat.

"I feel _**amazing**_." she said jumping up and down. "Feels so good!" She threw a few punches. "I feel really strong, too."

"You're dead." replied Julia coldly. Julia had on her Slayer gear and her katana tied to her back, like she normally had before she went vampire Slaying.

"I don't care. Thank you."

"I wasn't trying to be nice." Julia said standing up.

"Where are you going? You look like you're ready to go kill someone."

"I have to visit my sire. I have a debt to settle with him."

"Can I come along?" Stephanie asked her excitedly.

"Sure." Julia replied. "Just don't get in my way. And do as I tell you." Stephanie nodded enthusiastically.

"So...why _**did **_you turn me?"

"I wanted to keep you around. I like you. Only way to do that was turn you."

"Well, thank you. I feel like I can do _**anything**_."

"You can't. This is a curse, Stephanie. Not a gift." Julia said drawing her sword and examining it. The katana was her only link to her Slaying life. Her human life.

"You really hate being a vampire?"

"More than anything."

"Julia,"

"That's no longer my name."

"Then what should I call you?" she asked. The ex-Slayer sheathed her sword and looked Stephanie dead in the eyes.

"Katana. You can call me Katana."


	23. Chapter Twenty One: Hunting Valentine

**Chapter Twenty-One: Hunting Valentine**

_Valentine. The name itself brings up hate and disgust. If only he was in front of me now. If only I could get my hands around his neck, I'd pop his head off like a bad pimple. But he was nowhere to be found, and undoubtedly gathering forces. He's going to need a lot more than vampires to scare me. He's going to need a lot more than vampires to even think about facing me._

Katana stood with her sword in her hand and looking out at the wide and empty plain fields. It stretched for miles and miles. Hunting at night had an advantage...she didn't have to deal with anyone. Anyone besides Stephanie, that was. Katana, however, had a strange sense of patience for the vampire waitress's curiosity and energetic behaviors. She was dying to get into a fight. Katana had to make sure she wouldn't get hurt if she ever did.

Valentine wasn't far. She could smell his horrid stench in the midnight air. Stephanie stepped up next to her and looked out at the empty fields as well. She let out a sigh and placed her hands on her hips.

"Nothing." She said. "We've been at this for days, Katana. Is there even a 'Valentine'?"

"Are you questioning me?" Katana asked and Stephanie immediately shook her head.

"No," she said. "I'm sorry." Katana smiled a little at the girl's obedience and gave her a kiss.

"I'm just kidding. We're not going after Valentine yet. I can't track him." Stephanie looked at Katana with a strange expression on her face.

"Then where are we going?" she asked as Katana took in a breath of air to determine their direction.

"To recruit somebody. We go this way." she said heading west.

* * *

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Jane said to Satsu as Satsu limped across the room. "But you really should let me do these things. I don't want you to get hurt again." Satsu shook her head and grabbed the cup of water that was on the counter.

"I can do this on my own, Jane. I know you're just looking out for me—and I'm really grateful—but I can't make you baby-sit me."

"You're not making me do _**anything**_. I want to be here for you." Jane put Satsu's arm around her shoulder and helped her to the coach. She slowly helped Satsu down and then fell down next to her and sighed. "It's only been a few days. You have to keep your strength up."

"I can't. Not when I know that Julia's out there—somewhere. She needs me, Jane."

"What she needs is a stake in the heart." Jane said. "And I don't mean that in a bad way. Julia is gone, Satsu. She's dead. Valentine killed her. That thing out there is just wearing her body and using her memories. But it is not her."

"You don't know that." _It's Julia. Aren't memories and experiences what makes us who we are? To hell with the soul. What does it do that our experiences and memories can't?_

"You're a vampire Slayer. You can't say that you don't believe vampires aren't evil."

"Jane, if you're going to help me—please don't talk to me about this. I've made up my mind to find her and talk to her. Don't make this any harder for me than it already is. Please." Jane nodded her head and held Satsu's hand.

"I'm sorry I upset you." Satsu gave her a weak smile. Jane put her arm around Satsu and let Satsu's head fall on her. "I love you, Satsu." She stroked Satsu's head. "If finding her and talking to her is what you want then I'll be behind you a hundred percent of the way."

"Ladies," Zack said entering the living room. "Sorry to disrupt your moment but I got word on Julia."

"Yeah?" Satsu sat straight up, forgetting how much pain that would cause. Wincing, Satsu let out a cough. "What?"

"Well—word out on the street is that a recently turned Vampire Slayer—" Zack hesitated.

"What?" Zack was still hesitating. "_**What**_?"

"She has another girl with her. They're together. Physically." Satsu felt her heart stop. Or something to that effect. She took in sharp painful breaths and closed her eyes. She nodded.

"Go on, Zack."

"They call her 'Katana', some sort of street vampire name, I'm guessing. She's been searching for someone."

"Who?"

"A vampire by the name of Valentine. Ring a bell?" Zack said sarcastically.

"So if we find Valentine—we find Julia?" Jane said.

"Yeah. But see—no one knows where he is either. Except that he's in hiding trying to gather an army. He's dead scared of Julia."

"Well we have two points to look at now instead of one. It's a start." Satsu said.

* * *

Katana stood leaning against a pillar with her arms folded and her gaze forward. Stephanie was standing next to her. There was a very large man standing a few yards away from them. He was in deep conversation with another man. The large man would look over at the two of them from time to time with a suspicious look on his dull face. After half an hour or so, the two men finally stopped talking and parted ways. The large man walked up to Katana with the same suspicious look.

"Can I help you?" the man asked, not paying attention to Stephanie. Katana straightened up and nodded.

"I want to enlist your help." She said. "I heard you are an extraordinary tracker. That you can track anyone no matter what." The large man nodded his head.

"And how much will I get for my services?"

"I have a proposition. I want to get rid of Slayers. To end the world of Slayers, but I first must find a vampire and kill him. Only then can I focus all my attention on my Slayer genocide plans. Being a fellow vampire yourself, I'm sure you appreciate my offer. I will do all the heavy lifting. I just need you to be my tracker."

"Killing all Slayers, huh?" The big man said. "Okay, then. I'm in. How'd you hear about me anyways?"

"I have my sources." Katana said with a smile on her face. "Good to have you on the team, Maxwell."

* * *

Zack was lying in bed with his eyes wide opened. He shifted uncomfortably and sat up. He couldn't take his mind off of Julia. He didn't know what to do. The girl that he had loved for so long…was now a vampire. He wasn't sure he could do what was necessary if he faced her. If he could beat her at all. Who knew the power she held now that she's both a Slayer _**and**_ a vampire. The door to his room creaked opened and Zack sat up in his bed and turned on the lamp. It was Sophie in her usual in-home attired, tank top and shorts.

"Hi," she said quietly. She closed the door and walked up next to his bed. "Were you still awake?"

"Yeah," Zack answered. "I haven't been able to sleep since—" Julia's smiling face appeared in his mind's eye and Zack shook his head. "I can't stop thinking about it. She's gone."

"I know," frowning, Sophie sat down on the bed next to Zack. "I'm really sorry. I know you cared a lot about her." She put her hand on his lap and stroked it gently. "I don't know what to say."

"I'm really glad I have you around." He said holding her hand. "You've been really amazing to us since—"

"I turned a new leaf?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, if it weren't for you I don't think I would have to strength to."

"You're stronger than you know, Sophie." He said with a smile at her. She was even prettier than usual that night, as the lamp dimly lit her pale face. "I'm the weak one."

"No, you're not." She said leaning in towards him. "You're the most amazing person I've ever met. And I'm sorry for all the horrible things I've done to you in the past. I can't even believe that I did those things to you." They had had this conversation once before, but that night it seemed oddly appropriate to have it again.

"I've forgiven you for everything, Soph. You don't need to apologize." She leaned her head in on his chest and he held her silently. Since she started living with him, the two of them had bonded and become extremely close…and often touchy. But they had not done anything besides things like holding each other for comfort.

"You loved her, right? Julia?" Sophie asked after a long time. Zack was patting Sophie's hair. Zack was quiet for a long time, trying to formulate his words and thoughts.

"She meant a lot to me."

"Were you in love with her, Zack?"

"I idealized her." Zack said. "She was an unattainable dream. I loved her as a friend and I idealized her romantically." He laughed. "Talking about this is weird. She's dead—"

"Satsu doesn't seem to believe she is."

"Satsu's in love with her."

"Same way you were?"

"No," Zack said sternly. "She loves her the right way." Zack looked down at the very pretty girl in his arms. "Kind of the way I want to feel about you." His heart felt like it had skipped a beat after he had said it. He wasn't good at these types of things.

"Yeah?" Sophie said after a pause.

"Yeah," he said.

"So—you do like me?"

"Yeah," he said again. She tried to conceal her smile as she sat straight up to become face level with him.

"Kiss me, Zack." Zack leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. She pressed his face with her hands and kissed him back, her tongue gently massaging his. The door burst open and the two of them immediately separated. Jane stood looking at them awkwardly for a moment before shaking her head.

"Um—your info this morning panned out, Sophie. We found him. Valentine. We have to head out _**now**_. Julia's way ahead of us. We don't want to miss our chance."

* * *

"You sure this is the way?" Stephanie asked as the three of them proceeded. "There's nothing around for miles except mountains."

"Would you tell her to stop complaining? She's really annoying. Why'd you choose her out of everyone?" Maxwell said, ignoring Stephanie completely.

"Because she was a really nice girl until I killed her." Katana said with a frown. She turned to look at Stephanie. "Babe," She said. _That sounds…so familiar. _"in the middle of nowhere would be the _**exact**_ place Valentine would be hiding."

"I know. You're right," Stephanie said putting her arm around Katana's. "I'm just hungry. We haven't eaten since last night. We haven't found a single person around." Katana put her arm around Stephanie's shoulder and embraced her.

"I'm sorry, babe. We'll find someone for you to eat later. Okay?" Stephanie nodded and Katana gave her a kiss. She let go of the girl and turned back to Maxwell who was studying the ground. "So are we close or what, Maxwell?"

"Oh we're close." He said looking up at the large mountain in front of them. "They're in there." Stephanie stepped forward and squinted her eyes.

"They?" she asked.

"They. Many. A small army maybe." Maxwell said. "You sure you want to proceed, Katana?"

"Yes," Katana said. The three of them walked to the entrance of the cave. There were two guards outside.

"Demons," Maxwell said. "He has demons on his side."

"No, he has something far worse." Katana said. "Change of plan. We're going to visit a friend of mine."

* * *

Betrix sat reading a book. It wasn't the worst book she had ever read, but she couldn't seem to focus on the words. She let out a sigh and closed the book and heard the doorbell ring. Getting up from her seat, Betrix looked through the peephole. There was no one. Shrugging, Betrix turned to walk again. There was a knock on the door. Betrix opened it slowly. No one. Betrix closed the door. Another knock. Angered, Betrix swung open the door and stepped outside. Someone grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground.

"Invite us in or I snap your neck like a twig." Katana said.

"Ju—Julia?"

"Betty, let me in."

"I can't—Amy—"

"If you don't let me in, we burn this place to the ground. Same thing. Let me in."

"Come in." Katana tossed Betrix through the opened door and walked in along with Stephanie and Maxwell. "Close—door." Maxwell closed the door behind him. "Up. Now." Katana grabbed Betrix by the collar and lifted her up and threw her on the chair she had been sitting on earlier.

"What do you want?" Stephanie went up the stairs. "_**Please**_—don't hurt Amy."

"I need you." Katana said. "And I'm in a _**very**_ bad mood right now. So if you decline—I'll give her a painful, slow, merciless death. Now—I need you to help me."

"Help you what?" Betrix asked. There was a scream and Stephanie was dragging Amy into the room and throwing her down on the ground. "Please—Julia—"

"Will. You. Join. Me?"

"This is pointless—just turn her and she'll have to work for us."

"We can't turn her. If we do she wouldn't care about Amy and we wouldn't have anything to force her to work for us. Amy stays our prisoner until after we finish our job. Betty—you work for me now."

"Why me?"

"You have military experience. I need that. I need strategy and tactics to take down an army. I need you to help us." Katana looked down at Amy. "Or else."

"Okay, okay. I'll do it."

* * *

_So, this is the thing. We knew very little about our source. He was a tall man with short cropped hair and a tattoo of what appears to be a cougar. He had bright blue eyes and a beard that was a little too long. He looked very untrustworthy, but he was the best source we had. He told us that "Katana" had come to him asking for help finding a tracker to find someone. He pointed her to a vampire called Maxwell Jenkins, who he said is the best of the best. That was _**_before_** _word of her plan got out. She wanted to rid the world of Slayers. Now our source, Kyle, is a human. He saidhe doesn't mind vampires hiding in the night and killing people so long as they had Slayers to balance it out. He said that if Slayers were gotten rid of, the the whole ecosystem would be thrown off balance. He said that many vampires have made this claim before, of course, but he had seen what she could do. She beheaded four vampires in a blink of an eye to demonstrate to the rest of the nest why she was called "Katana". He gave us an item of Maxwell's and we used our own trackers, Zack and Sophie, to find where they were headed. We ended up in a mountainous area. _

"Trail doubles back," Zack said. "Guess why?" Zack pointed to the two guards standing at the entrance of the cave. Satsu let out a long sigh and closed her eyes.

"Shit!" she yelled, stomping on the ground. "Valentine's teamed up with Solomon."


	24. Chapter Twenty Two: Once More

**Chapter Twenty-Two: "Once More, with Feeling…"**

_She's so beautiful. Who is she? Why does she keep showing up in my dreams? Why does her smile make me feel like everything's going to be okay? I continued to dream dreams of the small, beautiful blonde girl that I've dreamt of since I became a Slayer. She continued to keep me feeling safe through the dark nights and unforgettable nightmares. I would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, sweating from head to toe, screaming and yelling in terror. I was afraid. I was afraid of what would happen when I finally see Julia again. I was afraid of what she's become. Julia was the love of my life. She kept me sane through the trials of the past year that had had me wanting to run screaming away. She changed me in way I couldn't have imagined and can never describe._

Satsu was sitting in the dark looking at her hands. The realty of Julia's death was finally hitting her. Everything around her seemed to melt away as she imagined their last conversation…their last kiss. Was it really their last? Tears formed in her eyes as she imagined going back to her empty bed. She sobbed as she imagined Julia's embrace. She could almost feel her tender touch. "As long as I'm with you I don't care about anything else." She had said to her. Satsu just wanted to hold her again, to feel her warmth. She just wanted to smell her familiar scent and gaze upon her loving face. Was their last date really going to be the last time Julia would ever take her out? Would it really be the last time that Julia would kiss her passionately upon the lips in front of passer-bys? _Was the last time we made love...?_

Satsu put her hand on her forehead and tried to stop her tears. She felt as if she couldn't catch her breath. _I love you, babe._ She wanted to be able to say that to her lover again. _I really, really love you_. Or is it loved? Satsu stood up wearily and laid down on her cold bed. She pulled the blankets up to her chin and hugged the extra pillow Julia used to sleep on. She pressed it tight against her body and smelt her fading scent. The pillow became wet with tears and Satsu tried desperately to sleep. _If I sleep I might be able to see her again. I'd be able to tell her I love her. To hold her in my arms and never let her go. To never have left the house that night. It's my fault she's dead. It's all my fault. I should have been the one to die. Why didn't I die? Julia, please forgive me. I wish it were me that is dead…_

_

* * *

_

"She's crying." Jane said as she, Zack, and Sophie sat in his small room. "I hate feeling so helpless. She's hurting so much and I can't do a thing." Jane was tearing up herself as she sat on his single bed. Zack was on a chair with his head leaned back so that he was looking up at the plain ceiling. Sophie was sitting next to Jane, extremely quiet.

"I know what you mean." Zack said to her. _I'm hurting, too._ Satsu was sobbing loudly and they could hear her punching her bed.

"God damn it! Fuck!" Jane threw Zack's pillow on the ground and covered her face. "Fuck! Fuck! _**Fuck**_!" Sophie looked over at Zack, widening her eyes. Zack knew she was telling him to comfort Jane. He knew she was trying to tell him that she was no good at that type of thing...that the last time she had a heart-to-heart with Jane was the most she could offer. Zack closed his eyes and tried his best to control his flaring temper. He wanted to rip Valentine's guts out.

"Jane—" Zack said standing up and sitting down next to her. Sophie stood up and took a seat on the chair. He put his arm around her shoulders and she fell onto his lap. "Shh—don't cry." He patted her head and looked over at Sophie with a frown. The punching from Satsu's room had stopped, now substituted by quivering sobs. _God, I wish these rooms were sound proof. I remember hearing Julia and Sat—_ Zack closed his eyes. "I miss her." Zack said without thinking. "I miss her so much." There was a long period of silence as they all listened to Satsu slowly fall asleep.

"You know that song? 'I Will Follow You into the Dark' by Death Cab for Cutie?" Sophie said, breaking the silence.

"What about it?" Jane asked with her head leaned against Zack's arm now.

"Seems oddly appropriate for the mood we're in."

"That'd make me cry." Zack said and the three of the laughed a little. Then their faces fell again. "Turn it on."

* * *

Satsu was in a state of uneasy sleep that night on her tearstained pillow. Her arms were wrapped around an imaginary Julia as she moaned tiredly. Sleep didn't feel good. Not as long as Julia was gone. She was half wake from time to time, peaking open her eyes to see if all of it had just been a horrible nightmare and that Julia might be next to her, sound asleep. She wasn't. Every time Satsu opened her eyes was another second of disappointment. Drifting from nightmare to nightmare, Satsu was woken up by the loud ring of her cell phone. She moved her hand and searched in the night. She looked at the bright screen. It was a number she'd never seen before. It was also three in the morning.

"Hello?" Satsu answered grumpily. There was a lot of noise in the background, mostly girls chattering.

"Is this Satsu?" came an oddly familiar voice.

"Yeah," Satsu said sitting up and rubbing her tired eyes. "Who is this?"

"I'm sorry to bother you. Did I wake you?"

"Its three in the morning."

"I'm sorry. Time difference. My name is Andrew Wells. I work for the Slayer Organization headed by Buffy Summers. I've heard you know all about Slayers."

"Yeah," Satsu said, her heart beating a bit faster now. "Can I help you Mr. Wells?"

"Actually, I was wondering if we could help you."

* * *

"So, we go in—we take out Valentine and if possible Solomon—and what happens then?" Stephanie said as she stared blankly at Katana. Katana was ready for battle. She was ready to wreck some hell.

"Well—we give them a choice. They can either fight us or join us in our mission." Katana said stretching her arms. "Again, Stephanie, you don't have to go in there with me. It's safer if you just stayed behind." Stephanie shook her head and grabbed a nearby sword.

"No way am I letting you in there by yourself. I'm going in there with you, and that's that." She said swinging the sword back and forth. She hit the table with it and it sliced through the wood. "Um—I just need to learn now to fight?" Laughing, Katana pulled out her own sword and examined it.

"Let's go, babe." The two of them left their hideout and went to a hill overlooking the entrance of Solomon's HQ.

"What are you planning on using that woman Betrix for?" Stephanie asked as the two of them observed the Hunter guards.

"Betty's necessary for the bigger picture. For our mission after I take out my revenge on Valentine." Three more guards joined the two at the entrance. They had been patrolling.

"Should we wait for them to leave again before we attack?" Stephanie asked.

"No. We don't need to. Look, you don't need to get involved in the fighting unless you have to. These guys are strong. One of them alone is probably a bit stronger than you are. So be careful. You got it?" Stephanie nodded her head. "Show time then." The namesake drew her katana and jumped down the hill. Stephanie followed suit. The five guards immediately took notice of them and yelled something. Katana quickly dispatched them. They were like playthings to her. _Imagine…I got my ass kicked by __**these**__ guys back then._ More were coming at her as she entered the cavern. Some were weakling demons, some were vampires. _Good_. Stephanie was behind her the whole time as they continued deeper into the cave. None of the opponents made it passed Katana. Their head rolled one by one. That, or they were cut in half. It was a long time before anything of interest happened. But it did.

Katana heard a scream and she turned back to find Stephanie being thrown against the cavern wall. It was Valentine. He grabbed Stephanie by the neck, picked her up, and slammed her against the ground. Katana moved fast, tackling Valentine. She threw him up. His back slammed against the roof of the cave and he fell back down. She went in for the kill but the next thing she knew she was flying backwards. She landed on her feet and Stephanie quickly went behind her. Solomon had saved Valentine.

"You bitch!" Solomon growled. "You kill my men! Do you know how much you set me back?" There were more Hunters, regular demon guards, and vampires coming, but nothing Katana couldn't handle. If only Solomon wasn't there. Katana wasn't sure if she could take on Solomon, let alone having Valentine at his side. _**And**_ the fact that there were over two dozens Huners, demons, and vampires surrounding them.

"Sorry," Katana said sarcastically. There were four Hunters, twelve demons which Stephanie could take on no problem, and nine vampires. Quick as lightening, Katana threw her sword at one of the Hunters, stabbing it right in the eyes and through its skull. She ran forward and broke two Hunter faces and grabbed her sword. The last one she sliced in half from the head down. The vampires and demons took a few steps back. "Take care of the demons. I'll deal with the rest!" Katana made her way quickly, running around the large amount of demons and vampires to separate them. Stephanie quickly got into battle with the demons.

"_**Stop**_!" Solomon's voice echoed the cave. "We'll settle this a different way. You've killed enough of my men. It's going to take me _**months**_ to get back my numbers. You'll face me, one on one. This time you don't have your other friends to help you, do you?" Katana smile. _Even better._

"Good." Solomon stepped forward and swung his arm. Katana was behind him in a matter of seconds and stabbed her sword forward. He grabbed her sword and plucked it out of her hands and threw it. Smiling, she gave him a crushing blow to the left knee. He knelt down and swung his arm. Their fists met. His hand shattered into pieces of rock. He let out a scream of agony and she jumped up, upper cutting him. His head shattered like his fist did. Katana landed and picked up her sword. "Well that wasn't so bad, was it? To think that I needed Satsu, Zack, _**and**_ you just to beat the Boss." She smirked at Valentine's horrified face.

"Please—Julia—I—"

"You what?"

"I—please don't kill me." He was practically on his knees.

"You disappoint me, Valentine. You used to have such a cool demeanor. A mystery. An unknowing evil lurking in the shadows picking on poor Julia. But I'm not Julia. She's dead. Psh. Look at you now. Begging for a life you don't even have." She put her sword on his shoulder. "You know what you did to me?"

"Yes, I do."

"You robbed me of _**everything**_! And you made me _**this**_. You turned me into the thing I loathed the most! I don't even know what I am anymore! Am I a Slayer? A vampire?" Katana moved in closer to him. "You robbed me of my life. My love. You raped me, you disgusting pile of dust." She lower the sword and moved in close to his face. "I want you to beg."

"W-What?"

"Tell me you want to live. That you don't want to be the pile of dust you are."

"I—I don't want to be a pile of dust. I want to live."

"Once more, with _**feeling**_, Valentine. Remember? With 'passion', was it?" Trembling Valentine clenched his fist.

"Please don't kill me." He said as he closed his eyes.

"No." Katana swung her sword and beheaded the vampire she loathed almost as much as herself.


	25. Chapter Twenty Three: Permanent

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Permanent Retirement**

"That's really weird." Jane said looking at Satsu with wide-eyes. "What'd you say to him?" Satsu had just gotten through telling Jane about her phone conversation with the man, Andrew Wells. Jane was leaning forward, looking at Satsu intently.

"I told him that we'd appreciate any help he could give us." She said. "He said he'd have his people here by tonight."

"Wow," she said. "he has people?" Satsu laughed and leaned forward a little.

"Well he works under Buffy. He explained to me that she and her friend, a 'powerful lesbian witch by the name of Willow Rosenberg, who when angry can turn into a Dark Willow that would destroy the world', broke the so-called Slayer Line and gave all potential Slayers their powers. That's how both Julia and I got our powers. Buffy is supposed to be the head of a whole Slayer Organization that operates kind of like the military and fights all kinds of evil."

"Damn," Jane said with a bright smile. "That's friggen awesome." The two laughed and Jane held Satsu's hand. "Sounds like something you should be a part of. Something great." She leaned in to kiss Satsu but she pulled away. Jane let go of her hand and stood up. "I'm sorry, I just—"

"No," Satsu stood up as well. "It's not—" she stopped mid-sentence. She had heard something broke. Glass. Both Satsu and Jane walked towards the sound of the broken glass, which had come from Satsu's room. They walked in and saw a piece of paper attached to a rock. _Subtle._ Satsu picked up the black rock and took off the rubber band. She unfolded the paper and read it.

_**Remember the park where we first sparred and almost kissed?**_

_**Meet me there tonight. I want to talk to you. Be alone.**_

_**Love, Julia**_

"What's it say?" Jane took the piece of paper out of Satsu's hand. She had stared at it for over a minute without saying a word. "Oh." Jane said giving her the note back. "Um—are you going to go?" Satsu looked up at Jane. She looked like someone had just died.

"I—yeah. I am." Satsu folded the note neatly and placed it in her back pocket. "I'm going to need to get the window fixed now…" she said frowning at the broken glass. "Do you know where Zack and Sophie are?" She was trying desperately to stay off topic.

"Yeah," Jane said picking up the rock. "Zack um—went to Betrix's. He said he's worried about her since we haven't heard from her in a while. Sophie went to talk to Martha's. Something about mending their relationship or something."

"Martha?"

"Zack and Sophie's mother…ish? I don't even know. They've got a pretty screwed up family."

"Tell me about it. Zack and Sophie seem kind of like an item—"

"A really gross, incestuous item." Jane said with a weak laugh. Satsu laughed too.

"Well it's only noon." She said. "You want to go grab lunch?"

"Um—" obviously she hadn't forgotten about their almost-kiss. "Yeah, I guess."

* * *

_I hadn't seen her since I kicked her out of the pack. I was scared to death about how she would react to my coming to see her. Would she hate me? Would she kick me out of her home? Would she laugh at my face and not even let me in? I didn't know what was going to happen—all I did know was that I owed her an apology. She took me into her home and I repaid her by breaking her up with her husband and sleeping with her kid. What type of fucked up person was I? Was I still that person inside? Have I even changed at all?_

Sophie knocked on the wooden door weakly. She wasn't too sure of the idea. Zack had told her that it would help her in her quest of seeking redemption and what not. _I need to pee._ She took in a deep breath. Her flaming hair was shining brightly as she knocked on the door harder. It opened.

"Sophie?" Martha asked. Neither Zack nor Sophie had told Martha about her turning a new leaf. So, Sophie wasn't surprised to see the contempt and disgust on the woman's face. Sophie was, however, disappointed. _This is definitely __**not**__ a good idea. Stupid fucking Zack…_

"Hi, Martha." Sophie said with a half-smile. "Can I come in?" Martha was unsurprisingly taken-aback by Sophie's politeness.

"What do you want?" she asked, rudely but understandably.

"I—I want to talk to you. Please." Martha looked at the girl suspiciously for a few seconds before opening the door wider. Sophie nodded politely and walked into the empty house. She walked over to the couch and sat down.

"You want anything to drink?" Martha asked.

"No, I'm fine." Sophie said. Martha sat down on the other couch, directly facing Sophie. She looked older than Sophie had remembered her. _She used to look so young._

"So what do you want?" Martha asked again. Sophie breathed through her nostrils, trying to make as little noise as possible.

"I um—came—to—apologized." Sophie said, moving her hands in the air.

"Apologize?"

"For everything that I've done to you." She said. "Zack's been helping me turn a new leaf. He's trying to help me change to be a better person. I _**want **_to be a better person—" _For him._

"Really?" Martha said, obviously unconvinced.

"Yeah," Sophie said, trying to come up with the most convincing way to express her newfound interest in fighting the good fight. _Because of Zack,_ she thought. _No, that would make her angry. _"I've realized what a bitch I was." She said. "And I'm trying to atone." Martha looked at her long and hard before she nodded.

"That's good for you, Sophie. I'm glad." The two smiled weakly at each other and sat in silence for a long time. "So are you still with Cooper?" She finally asked, breaking the long held silence.

"No—he um—I'm not sure _**what**_ happened to him. We fought against the Boss and he got captured. I rescued Zack and them—I never saw him. He might be on Julia's team now—I'm not sure." Martha nodded her head and silence fell upon them again. "I'm really sorry about it. You know? The whole kicking you out of the pack thing. It really was just—"

"I think what you did was probably the best thing anyone could have done for me." She said nodding her head. "Albeit with all the wrong intentions. But if you hadn't—I don't think I could've gotten out from underneath that man's paws. He had me pinned down and on a leash. You saved me, Sophie."

"In that case I'm not sorry." The two of them laughed at that. "Zack told me that the best way for me to atone is to start mending my relationships with the people that I've hurt. So—yeah."

"Zack's a good boy." Martha said. "He's the only one out of my three children that I got to see become an adult. A man." _Apparently I'm not one of your kids. _"I'm glad I get to see you become a good woman, too, Sophie. And I hope you and Zack can have a happy life together." _What?_ "Oh, don't look at me like that. I'm not stupid. You have love written all over your face." She smiled at Sophie and Sophie couldn't help but to smile back. _I do love him_. "Look—I know that there must be some part of you that feels like it's wrong to care about him. For one, you're over five years older than him. Two, you think it's wrong because he's your 'brother'." Sophie nodded her head. _So…where's the "but"? _"_**But**_, you didn't grow up with him. You lived on your own by the time he was old enough to understand anything. You're not blood. And if you're lucky enough to find someone you care about—who cares what anyone else thinks." Sophie smiled to herself and nodded.

"Thank you, Martha." Martha held the girl's hands.

"I've never looked at you as a daughter." She said. "And I don't mean that in a bad way. You have my blessing."

"You know—you're teaching me some pretty bad morals."

"Well, it is our family after all."

* * *

_Zack had came back and told me that Betrix and Amy were gone and that there were lingering traces of Julia being there as well. When Sophie came back I told the three of them to stay in case Andrew and his Slayers come. Zack insisted that he go with me. I told him no. He finally gave up and stayed at home._

The whole walk, Satsu had been imagining what she would say to Julia when she saw her. What direction the conversation would even take. Would it be tearful reunion? An angry breakup? A bitter goodbye? A loathsome introduction to a mortal enemy?

The park was empty, just like the night that she and Julia had sparred. Katana was standing exactly where they were the last time. The dim lights still made her look beautiful, although she was much paler than before. Upon spotting Satsu, Katana gave her a smile. _She looks…fine. Julia's fine._ Satsu ran forward and threw herself at Katana, who also embraced her back. Katana ran her icy cold fingers along Satsu's face and gave her a kiss on the lips.

"I've missed you—_**so**_ much." Satsu said, holding her dead girlfriend in her arms.

"I've missed you, too." Katana said softly. "I really did." They kissed again. But something was wrong. It didn't feel right. It didn't feel like she was kissing Julia. All her warmth, all her passion, all her love wasn't there. What was left was a shell, a shell inhabited by some alien being that still carried her memories.

"Why didn't you come to me sooner?" Satsu asked, trying her best to ignore the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. "I want to help you. I _**want**_ to kill Valentine with my bare hands."

"It was something I needed to do alone."

"Needed?"

"He's gone. So is Solomon. So is most of his army. I kept the survivors to help me in my cause."

"Your cause?"

"I have a plan. An idea."

"So what's your plan?"

"To end the world." Katana said simply.

"Really? You're master plan is to end the world? Why the hell would you want to do that?" Satsu was taking a few steps away now. She stared in disbelief upon the face of the girl she once loved with all her being. The girl that once loved her back, just as much.

"I've lived. I've unlived. I want to retired. And I know you do too. And so does everybody else in this world. If I create a war between vampires and Slayers—it'll escalade into something more. And then—the world will be in chaos and everything will ultimately end. If everyone is gone...then we'll finally have peace. As long as there are people...there will be conflict. And once it ends—we'll all be in peace. No more fighting. No more dying. No more tears. It'll all be over. Total liberation. Permanent retirement, Satsu." Satsu took even more steps back, shaking her head.

"That's not how you do it, Julia. If you want to retire—I'll do it with you. We can stop all the blood shedding and live normal lives."

"Normal, Satsu?" Katana laughed out loud. "There is no _**normal**_. There wasn't any normal when I was alive, and they're no normal for me now. Especially now."

"I can't let you do this, Jules."

"You can't stop me. And if you try—I will kill you. You are the single most important person to me on this planet—but I will kill you myself if you get in my way." Satsu took out her stake.

"No. Not right now." Katana said. "I can kill you very easily, Satsu. I want you to think about it. Give it a day. If you still want to stop me—me and my people will be at the battle field in front of Solomon's HQ this time tomorrow. If you still want to stop me then find me then." Katana stepped forward and kissed her on the forehead. "I do love you, Satsu."

* * *

Jane heard the doorbell ring loudly, echoing in the empty house. _Must be the Slayer Organization_. She fixed her hair in the mirror. _Several dozen girls. Hope someone in there's gay. I'm tired of being alone…_

She opened the door to find a depressed looking Satsu. She came inside and fell onto the couch. She was silent for a long time, seemingly reflecting upon the events that had transpired. After about five minutes, Sophie explained to them what had happened and about the coming battle the next night at "Mount Solomon".

"We need those Slayers here as soon as possible." Zack said after Sophie had finished catching them up. "If not—we're in for a world of trouble. Or—no world at all." Zack let out a sigh. "Jul—Katana is way too powerful. She could rip all our heads off before we could blink. How do you defeat someone that powerful?"

"You call in for the cavalry…" Jane was looking through the window at the massive amount of girls walking towards their door. Jane ran and opened the door to greet them. A small man with long hair smiled at her. He extended his hand and she shook it. They were rather soft.

"I'm Andrew Wells. Is Satsu here?" Satsu stood up and got up next to Jane. They shook hands.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Wells." She finally recognized him. He was the flamboyant man from the commercial she had seen when she first found out about her powers. Although back then his hair was shorter.

"Please, call me Andrew." He said with a strange voice. "May we come in?" Satsu nodded. She and Jane stepped out of the way so that he and his Slayers could come in. The living room was soon filled with girls. Some were extremely attractive...some not.

"So this is what heaven feels like." Zack said with a smile. Sophie punched him on the arms. "Ow, kidding. Geez." He put his arm around her and pulled her in close to him. "Don't be going all jealous on me." He kissed her on the top of her head. Satsu explained the situation to Andrew and after everything he nodded.

"Well, my source have already filled me in that much. Her powers are what we're concerned about." Satsu nodded. "Rona," an African American girl stepped forward. She was a decent sized girl with long dreadlock hair. "Rona here is one of the best Slayers we've got. She's captain of a squad and one of the few that was trained directly under Buffy herself. She's going to be in command of the Slayers in the battle field." Rona extended her hand and shook Satsu's.

"Nice to meet you, Satsu." She said.

"You too." Satsu replied.

"I know it's late, but what I wanted to do was test your skills first. See how strong you are and where you'd fit in when we start fighting." Rona said. "I can take it from here, Andrew." Andrew nodded and walked over to Zack's DVD collection rack.

"Oh! You have all the Star Wars! I might feel at home here yet." He said happily looking at them.

"Is he an idiot?" Zack asked Rona. She laughed and shook her head.

"He's just like that." She looked back at Satsu. "So like Andrew said, I'm the leader of the Chicago squad. Most of them are here tonight along with Andrew's squad and Vi's New York squad." The decent looking redhead from the commercial stepped forward and shook Satsu's hand.

"The name's Violet. She just can't shake old habits of calling me by my nickname." The girl said with a wink. She seemed nice.

"Alright. So here's the thing. I've got novice, trained, and experienced fighters. I want you to fight one of each. How's that sound to you?"

"Fine." Satsu said.

"Good. Let's go to your backyard." After they had all left the living room and into the dimly lit backyard, Rona pointed at three Slayers, a young girl with jet-black hair, a large girl with muscles the size of Texas, and Violet. "This is Monique." She pointed at the young girl. "Linda," she pointed at the large girl. "And Vi here's going to be my second in command out there tomorrow. She's trained and she's strong and fast. You'll fight her last. Monique get ready." Monique stepped forward and gave Satsu a bow and a smile. She got into fighting stance.

"Like—right now?" Satsu asked.

"Yes, right now." Rona said. Monique charged forward and Satsu stepped out of the way. The girl threw two punches to which Satsu blocked and punched her in the stomach. The girl fell to the ground. Satsu stepped forward to ask if she was okay but she doubled legged her. _This fight reminds me of the one I had with Julia a long time ago…_

"Nice," Satsu said wrapping her arm around the girl's skinny body and lifting her off the air. She threw her.

"Enough," Rona said. Monique got up wearily with a frown. "You did well, Monique. Linda!" Linda stepped forward. She was almost twice the size Satsu was and undoubtedly strong. "Linda held her own against eight vampires once." Linda got into stance. Satsu did as well. The large girl threw a punch that was faster than Satsu expected. It connected with her face and Satsu fell to the ground. She rolled backwards and got back up.

"Holy crap," she muttered to herself. _I'm so in over my head_. The girl charged at her. Satsu jumped as high as she could, somersaulted in the air, and landed behind the girl. She gave her a kick to the back. The girl toppled over. _I need to stop copying Julia's moves_. The girl got back up, anger written all over her face. _Ah, hell_. The girl charged again, this time she picked Satsu up and tossed her. Satsu landed on her feet.

"She's good," Rona said to Violet. Violet nodded and smiled.

"She's really good." She said. Satsu blocked three punches, found an opening, and punched Linda in the ribs. The girl let out a yell and backhanded Satsu. Dazed, Satsu took a few steps back. _God damn, she's strong_. The girl came at her again. Satsu punched her in the face, did a once handed cartwheel, and kicked her twice in the face. Linda fell down, unconscious. Rona smiled and pointed at two Slayers to help Linda up. She looked over at Violet.

"Nah," she said with smile. "I know where she stands. Don't you?" Rona nodded.

"Yeah," she said.

"What's that mean?" Satsu asked walking up to them.

"You got a lot to learn. But you've got potential."

"So that was all that was for?"

"No," Andrew said stepping forward. "You girls mind me explaining this to her?" Rona shrugged and Violet threw her hands up.

"Better you than me." She said.

"The girls here were testing to see what squad you would fit in best." Andrew said. "You've got potential. You're not as good as Violet and Rona yet—but you'll get there." He looked over at the two of them. "I think she should but placed in Buffy's team. What do you two think?" Both of them nodded their heads.

"I think she'd be really good if she gets to be trained under Buffy." Rona said. "Might even surpass us."

"Um—what?"

"I'm sorry," Andrew said. "We want you to join the Slayer Organization. We think you can do a lot of good."

"Um—I'm not sure—"

"Just take your time. The offer doesn't end." Rona said. Satsu nodded her head and looked over at Jane who smiled at her and gave her a wink. _Join the Slayer Organization?_

"So…what now?"

"Now—we're going to discuss some plans and tactics for tomorrow. You should get some rest."

* * *

_So that was it. Valentine was gone. Solomon was dead. I acquired over a dozen followers. My revenge was done. Now, for the grand plan…_

Katana stood looking at Betrix, who was handing a slice of pizza to Amy. Katana had been bringing them pizza on a regular interval. It was the only thing the kid would eat.

"So, what's your great plan now, Julia?" Betrix asked her. Katana stretched her arms.

"Destroying all Slayers." She said simply with a wide smile.

"Why? What would that accomplish? What's your motivation? What's the point of it?"

"That's for me to know and you to die before you find out. Now—from what I've heard there's a Slayer Organization. I don't know how big it is, how strong they are, and how many people they have. I need you to find out."

"And how the hell am I going to do that?"

"Oh, come on now, Betrix. You don't think you're all that special do you? The only reason I need _**you**_ is because I need _**her**_." She looked over at Amy, who was eating her cold slice of pizza.

"That's too much—"

"Of a strain on her?" Katana laughed. "Too bad. I could just torture and kill her if that's what you prefer." Betrix closed her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Fine," she turned to look at girl. "We got work to do, Amy."


	26. Chapter Twenty Four: Last Symphony

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Last Symphony**

Katana left the two of them Betrix and Amy and went into her own room. They were at an abandoned house. She laid down on her bed and closed her eyes. Every time she did she saw Satsu's face. _I want to be with you again, Satsu. I do. But I can't. Not like the way I am._ The door opened and Stephanie came in.

"You asleep?" she asked as she walked towards the bed.

"It's still dim out." Katana replied. "I just wanted to be alone." Stephanie stopped proceeding.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She said, sounding rather sad. _Dammit_. Katana sat up in her bed and gave Stephanie a weak smile.

"Come on," Katana said, patting her bed. Stephanie climbed onto it and sat looking at Katana.

"I feel like I'm a drag to you." She said with a frown. "I know I'm annoying and just—"

"Its not your fault. I made you the way you are." Katana combed Stephanie's hair under her ears, the way she used to with Satsu. "And for the record, you're not annoying. Just a bit enthusiastic at times." Stephanie gave her a smile.

"Do you believe you can care about someone else when you don't have a soul?" she asked and Katana nodded.

"Of course you can. A soul doesn't have anything to do with if you care about people or not."

"So what does a soul do for you? Why are we considered evil beings and abominations because we don't have souls?"

"What I think is—the soul is a sense of guilt and responsibility for actions. I can kill someone in the streets, drain them till they're as dry as a raisin, and still feel no remorse because I don't have a soul."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Stephanie leaned forward, her pretty face close to Katana's. "What I was going with that question was—that I think I care about you." Katana smiled wrapped her hand around the back of Stephanie's neck.

"That's cute," she said kissing her lips. "I like you, Stephanie." She kissed her again. "I wish we met under better circumstances." Katana frowned. "But then I'd have a girlfriend so it wouldn't really have worked out either." Stephanie climbed on top of Katana. The bed creaked loudly.

"I'm fine with this." Katana pulled Stephanie's shirt off and ran her hand around Stephanie's slightly round stomach and up to her large breasts.

"Right now," Katana said as Stephanie unzipped her jeans. "I'm fine with it, too."

* * *

Satsu opened the door and came into her room. She closed the door behind her and took off her clothes. She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. _Julia is never going to be able to see herself in the mirror ever again._ She walked over and opened the door to her restroom to reveal Jane who had just gotten out of the shower.

"Oh, my God." Satsu said closing the door and looking away. "I am so sorry." _Wow, she looks amazing._

"Completely my fault. I should have told you I was going to be in here." Jane called from the restroom. "And we're both girls, Satsu. It's fine."

"No," Satsu said. "It really is not." She closed her eyes, leaning against the door.

"Yeah? Why's that?" Satsu turned around as Jane opened the door. She had a towel covering her now. "The other girls are taking up all the restrooms. I'm really sorry."

"No—it's fine." They were standing face to face and Jane tried to squeeze through. "Sorry," Satsu moved to the side and Jane gave her a smile as she walked to the door. "Wait." Satsu said walking up to her. She grabbed Jane by the waist and pulled her in so that their pelvis were touching each others. Satsu kissed her as she took in the smell of her own shampoo. _Damn, do I normally smell this good?_ The kiss felt much longer than it was, and by the time they had finally stopped, the towel covering Jane was on the ground, revealing her naked body.

"Wow," Jane muttered. "What was that for? And is that cinnamon lip gloss? It tastes really good."

"Just because," Satsu said. "And yeah...I wanted to try something new. Have you been working out?"

"A little. Got to stop being a nerd sometime." She laughed. She stared into Satsu's eyes for a long time, observing every micro expression on her face. "So…what does that kiss suppose to mean?"

"I want to stop—hiding—suppressing—my feelings for you." Satsu said. She kissed her again and picked her up with ease and threw her onto the bed. She jumped on top.

"Yeah?" Jane said, cupping her hand around Satsu's butt cheeks. "What feelings are those?"

"You tell me first." Satsu said. "I don't want to overdo it."

"Over do it?"

"I have really intense feelings for you." Satsu said with laugh. "Its not even funny."

"Didn't feel like it just yesterday." Jane said, turning over so that she was on top of Satsu. "I like this better." She said with a smile. "I was always the initiator, remember?" _Unlike with Julia._

"Yeah, I remember." Satsu said with a smile. "I kind of liked it." Jane nibbled on Satsu's lower lip.

"So—like I said. It didn't seem like you had any feelings for me yesterday."

"I was just trying to force myself to not have them."

"Why's that?"

"Because I was still holding onto the hope that Julia's alive. Or at least parts of her. And it's not the case. And I can't keep my feelings for you anymore."

"And this has nothing to do with you going into battle tonight?"

"Maybe a little. Yeah. Is that a problem?"

"Hell no." she said. "You know—we never went past first base when we were together." Satsu laughed and let out a moan as Jane's finger entered.

"Well then—we got a lot of catching up to do—don't we?"

* * *

"So how are you holding up?" Sophie asked as she entered Zack's room. He was with his shirt off, sitting at the computer. He turned to smile at her.

"You don't knock?" he said standing up.

"Oh, what could you possibly be doing that would require me to knock?" she said closing the door behind her. "Unless you're with a girl—"

"What's up with this nagging about girls?" Zack said with a smile. "You jealous of anyone in particular?"

"No," Sophie said shaking her head and getting closer to him, putting her hand on his chest. "I'm just kidding. I had a talk with Martha. She gave me her 'blessing'."

"For what?"

"Um—she guessed about how I feel—"

"About…?"

"You," she said looking up at him.

"And how do you feel?" he said, his hands on her waist.

"I love you, Zack." She said earnestly. "I want you to know that before we go into battle tonight."

"Well—" he said combing her hair. "I could say 'I love you, too'…but how about I show you just how much?" He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He set her gently on the bed and kissed her.

"God, finally! I've been hinting at and waiting for this for forever!" she ran her hand along his muscular back.

"I'm oblivious to these things." He said kissing her neck. "Do you like this shirt?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because I'm about to rip it off of you."

"Go ahead." He grabbed her shirt with both hands and ripped it down the middle. "God, that's hot."

"I know." He said. "You _**are**_."

* * *

"What's wrong?" Satsu asked stroking Jane's long blonde hair. It had grown a lot since they had first met. "You okay?" Satsu had her arm around Jane's body, her face pressed against the side of her breast.

"I'm just thinking." She said quietly. "You told me if I told you how I felt about you that you'd tell me?"

"Yeah," Satsu breathed, running her finger along Jane's abs. _Damn, she's got a nice body. She's so different now…_

"I'm in love with you." Jane said. "I don't know when it started. Probably around the time we started talking again—maybe before that. I don't know. But I really, _**really**_ am in love you with." Satsu smiled to herself and held Jane tighter.

"I love you, too." Satsu said. "A lot more than I thought. And the feelings seem to be getting stronger and stronger—"

"Why?" Jane asked. "I mean—I don't understand how I fit into this group of ours. I don't see what I can contribute but be a complete drag. You and Julia are Slayers. Zack and Sophie are werewolves. Betrix was in the military and an expert at interrogation. Amy's a friggen Connector. I don't see what about me is so special that you'd care for me."

"You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?" Satsu said with a frown.

"Everyday," replied Jane. Satsu let go of her and moved up so that she could speak to Jane face to face.

"You are an essential part of this group. You hold it together. You're the paste, Jane. You helped Zack through a tough time when he realized nothing was ever going to happen between him and Julia. You've helped me through this whole Julia ordeal. Without you—we'd all be lost. There wouldn't be a team. You're the heart of it. And don't pull this crap again." Satsu said. "You know better than anyone how amazing you are. Don't ask me it. You know it." Jane's frown only deepened and she nodded.

"I know what you're saying." She touched Satsu's face. "I love you, so much, Satsu. I hope you know that."

"Yeah, I got the memo. Ditto, bitch." Satsu said with a concealed smile.

"Oh, 'bitch' huh?" Jane said punching Satsu.

"You're going to pay for that." Satsu said wrestling her way onto of Jane. She pinned her wrists onto the bed.

"I'm going to steal a line from Sophie and say, 'promise?'."

"Promise."

* * *

Betrix pulled her hand away from Amy and made another tally a sheet of paper. She had down five. She closed her eyes. _This is ridiculous_. She looked at Amy who was now almost on the verge of tears. She pressed Amy's face against her, and rocked her back and forth.

"I'm so sorry, baby." She said. "I know you're tired."

"I want to stop. Can we please just stop?" Amy said, sniffling. "I want to go to sleep."

"I know, sweetheart. I know." _I need to find a way for us to escape…__**now**__. _Betrix looked around the room. She had already searched every possible way to exit but she couldn't. _I guess I should contact Satsu. I should have done this a while ago but…I've been hoping they would've come for Amy and me by now. _Betrix looked over at Maxwell and another guard. They were talking to each other about something in a whisper. _They can hear me from here._ Betrix ripped a piece of paper and wrote down, "Amy, connect me to Satsu." She handed the paper to Amy who, after reading it, nodded her head. Betrix held out her hand and caught Amy's.

The familiar sensation took over her as she squeezed through a long tunnel before surfacing in Satsu's room. Satsu was sound asleep and she could see a naked Jane getting out of bed. Jane put on her clothes as Betrix called out to her in a whisper. Jane couldn't hear her. She wasn't connected to her. _Wow, so Satsu and Jane again, huh? These kids. _Betrix smiled to herself and shook her head. She waited for Jane to leave the room before proceeding to Satsu's bed.

"Hey, Satsu." Betrix said. "Satsu!" she yelled. Satsu stirred in her sleep. "Satsu!" Satsu opened her eyes wearily.

"Betrix?" Satsu said wearily. "Are you there?"

"Yeah." She said. "We're connected right now."

"Are you and Amy okay?" Satsu asked sitting straight up.

"For now."

"You should have contacted me earlier! We didn't even know for the longest time!"

"I know," Betrix said. "Julia had us under extremely close surveillance and I didn't have any alone time with Amy until the past few hours. Even then her tracker Maxwell were all up on us. We need help. _**Now**_. I don't know how long Amy can hold on. She's making us find out how large this thing she calls the Slayer Organization is and how far its reaches are."

"I can save you the trouble and say there is _**a lot**_ of people in the Slayer Organization and its reaches span _**countries**_."

"In any case, we need your help _**now**_, Satsu. I got the address of the house. Can you go rescue us?"

"I will. I'll send someone to go get you and Amy. If there is any change in location you find _**any**_ way to contact us, you got me?" Satsu looked at her alarm clock. It was eight fifteen. "We're meeting at Mount Solomon in an hour to fight her. You won't be as heavily guarded. I'll send people to rescue you. Don't worry, Betrix."

* * *

Jane was sitting with her legs crossed and her eyes closed. She could feel someone staring at her but she didn't want to open her tired eyes. She hadn't had much sleep. She was up all night dreading the coming battle. The big battle. Were Satsu, Zack and Sophie going to make it through alive?

"Why are you staring at me?" Jane asked, not opening her eyes.

"Just admiring a beautiful lady." Came Zack's voice. Jane opened them and smiled.

"Hey!" she got up and gave Zack a tight hug. "Didn't know it was you."

"Yeah," he said. "We're leaving in like thirty minutes." He said with a frown. "If anything happens to me—"

"_**Nothing**_ is going to happen to you. You hear me? Nothing." She held his face in her hands. "You're my _**best**_ friend in the world, Zack. I can't lose you." Zack smiled down at her kindly and kissed her on the forehead.

"I love you, Jane." He said as he held her in his arms. "You're the best friend I got, too."

"So you're coming back in one piece. You got it?" she said with her head on his chest.

"For sure," he said in a low voice.

"Do you think I should let her go?" Jane asked him.

"What?" he asked with a confused look.

"Satsu," she head. "Me and her—we kind of—slept together earlier—" Zack's face lightened up.

"You dog!" he said and she punched him in the arm. He pretended like it hurt and she gave him a push.

"I'm serious right now!"

"Alright, alright." He said massaging his arm. "What do you mean by letting her go?"

"You know how Andrew offered her to join the Slayer Organization?"

"Yep,"

"I think she should go."

"Why?"

"I think it'd be a great opportunity for her. To do good with a whole team and not be constricted because she's got to look out for us. You know?" Zack nodded thoughtfully. "And she kind of told me she's in love with me—" Zack smiled again.

"You two are so cute."

"Shut up."

"Sorry," he laughed.

"And I love her a lot." She said. "_**A lot**_." She emphasized.

"I know you do."

"But—I think it's her destiny."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Zack frowned. "I think you should tell her how you feel about it and let her make her own decision." Jane nodded and held Zack's hand.

"Thanks, Zack."

"Come here." He opened his arms and she fell into them.

"You're probably the most understanding girlfriend in the world."

"I don't know if me and her _**are**_ together."

"Same diff," he said.

"Be safe out there."

"I know."

* * *

_Battle. I've been nice for so long I forgot this amazing tingling of excitement it comes when the smell of blood is in the air. This is going to be fucking amazing. _Sophie cracked her knuckles and fell onto the ground and did fifty pushups straight. She got back up and stretched. _I'm going to need to get really warmed up before this battle. _She was in her usual attire of tank top and gym shorts and she smiled at Andrew as he walked by. He gave her back a nervous smile back and stayed close to the wall as he tried to get by.

"I don't bite, you know." She said with a smirk. "Well—only when I transform." She pretended to bite the air and he quickly ran from the room. Laughing to herself, she went back on the ground and did one hundred sit-ups. She popped up and jumped in the air a few times.

"Looking good, Sophie." Satsu said as she entered the living room.

"You checking me out?" Sophie said scanning Satsu's body. "I actually don't mind."

"That doesn't work on me, sweetheart." Satsu said with her hands on the two swords at her side. She was in gear to fight. "I have a mission for you."

"Yeah? Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"Is it something cool? Because I could use a really good fight."

"I need you to rescue someone."

"Oh, a rescue mission. Who?"

"Betrix and Amy. They're at this address." Satsu handed her a piece of paper. "I need you to go there when we're going to battle and rescue them. Get them to a safe place and stay with them. Jane will be at the address on the bottom." She pointed at the second address on the paper. "She'll have two Slayers with her to protect everyone. I've talked to Rona. She's going to lend you two Slayers as well, under your command for the mission, to assist you in rescuing them. This is important, Sophie. I'm trusting you with two of my closest friend's lives. Are you up to it?" Sophie nodded her head serious.

"Yeah, I am. Thank you for trusting me with something this important." Sophie said. Satsu nodded and extended her hand.

"Good luck, Sophie. I'm hoping to see you tomorrow. Don't die on me." Sophie smiled and shook Satsu's hand. She had an extremely firm grip.

"Same to you, Satsu. Good luck." Satsu nodded and left the room. Sophie walked out into the backyard, where the Slayers were warming up. She came up to Zack, who was sitting by the corner of the yard with Jane.

"Hey," Zack said standing up and giving her a kiss.

"That's cute." Jane said with a smile. _She doesn't approve. I'm not good enough for her Zachary._ "I mean it. I'm glad you two are together." She said nodding at Sophie as if to give her approval. _What?_

"Really?" Sophie said with wide eyes and Jane laughed.

"Yes, Sophie. I think you've become an amazing person and that you'll be great for Zack." Sophie straightened up and smiled at her old enemy.

"Thank you, Jane."

"Don't mention it, evil bitch." Jane said. The three of them laughed a good laugh.

"Satsu tell you about the mission she gave me?" Sophie asked Zack. He nodded his head and held her.

"Don't do anything stupid. Saving them is important, but your life is, too. If you can't do it—don't. You got me? I love them—but I don't want to lose you, Sophie. I know I sound selfish but—I mean it." Sophie nodded her head and kissed him again.

"We're leaving right now. Good luck, babe. I'll see you after I finish my job."

"Good luck."

* * *

_I made sure Jane was safe with the two Slayers, both of whom Violet assured me were more than up to the job of babysitting, before I got into the car with Zack and Rona and a girl named Mandy. We drove in silence for the first half of the ride until Zack turned off the radio and rolled down the windows. He said he wanted fresh air if he was going to die. We made a few jokes about it, I don't remember what, but it got us talking. Rona asked us about our relationships with Julia and we both told them the truth. How we both loved her with all our hearts and that this was the last thing that we wanted to do, even though we both knew it was the right thing to do. Rona told us how sorry she was. We gave her our thanks._

Satsu's eyes were closed as the wind hit her face. Her hair was blowing wildly as she thought about this being her last car-ride...the last time she was going to be with these people. _Man, I hate thinking like this._ Her mind wondered to Julia. She imagined staking her, seeing the girl that she loved being turned to ashes. _I really hope I don't have to be the one that does it. I don't think I'm strong enough to._ She took in a deep breath and thought of Jane. _You better be all right, Jane. I don't think I can live if I lost you, too._ Her mind continued to wander from thought to thought before Rona broke it.

"I know this isn't your first rodeo, Satsu," she said. "But make sure you use teamwork. Okay? Teamwork is an essential part of these types of battles."

"I got it, Rona." Satsu said and Rona nodded her head.

"Good," she said. "Just making sure." They arrived at the meeting site shortly. They were one of the last cars to arrive. All the Slayers were together, getting their gears ready.

"I'm scared Zack." She said holding his hand as they walked. It was the first time she's held his hand, ever.

"Me too, Sat." he said stopping. "I'm shaking." He held her hand to his chest. "Feel my heartbeat?" it was beating fast.

"I'm sorry you never got a chance with her, Zack." Satsu said, frowning.

"Rub it in, will ya?" he said with a laugh.

"I'm sorry."

"No, I'm just kidding."

"She—she was the most amazing girlfriend ever."

"Oh," Zack said with a nod. "Better than Jane?"

"Zack!" Satsu yelled and the two laughed. "Stop trying to ruin the mood."

"Okay, okay. Sorry. Just when it comes to Jules—I kind of put up a defensive front, you know?"

"I know."

"I loved her, a lot. I never got to tell her that."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well—I love _**you**_. And I wanted to say _**that**_ before I lose that chance, too." Satsu smiled kindly at him and gave him a weak punch to the chest.

"Don't get all sensitive on me, big guy."

* * *

_Get in. Rescue. Get out. Simple enough._ Sophie parked the car a few blocks from the abandoned house. She was still in her tank top and shorts. _Do I need to take off my clothes? _She looked in the back seat her car where Linda was sitting. There were a few shirts and jeans. _Sweet_. She looked over at the girl sitting next to her.

"What was your name again?" she asked.

"Priscilla." The girl replied. She was a small Asian girl with long straight hair and a kind face. Sophie nodded.

"So I hear you two are good fighters?" Both of them shrugged.

"Good enough," Linda said.

"Sweet," Sophie said. "So here's the plan. We charge in—we hit them hard—I save the two of them—we bail. Got it? We make it fast." Linda and Priscilla nodded and the three of them got out of the car. "I won't transform unless I have to. You two make sure I don't need to. I don't want to have to change."

"You're a bit of a bitch, aren't you?" Linda said.

"Yeah—I really don't get along well with girls." Sophie shook her head and the three of them proceeded to the house. Sophie held up her fingers. _One. Two. Three._ Priscilla kicked the door down and the three rushed in. _Come on. Connect. Connect. Connect!_

"Can you hear me, Sophie?" came Betrix's voice as if it were surround sound.

"Got you, Betrix. Where are you?" She was frantically looking around the house.

"Third room to the left. Two guards. A large vampire by the name of Maxwell and a smaller one."

"Prisclla! Linda! In here!" The two Slayers followed her closely and she pointed at the room. Linda kicked it down and the two rushed in to fight the vampires. Sophie ran to Betrix and Amy. "You two okay?" she asked them. She helped Betrix to her feet.

"Yeah, thanks." They looked over at the two fighting the vampires. Three more came in.

"Fuck! More vampires." Sophie took off her tank top and shorts. "Stay here. Don't move. I'll try and make this quick." She transformed and rushed forward, biting one vampire on the leg and breaking it. The vampire fell onto the ground and she climbed on top and clawed his head off. It turned to dust. The other two vampires rushed to attack her. She back flipped and kicked both of them in the chest, landing on all four paws. She ran forward and slashed both their faces. They fell to the ground and she climbed on one of their backs and bit their neck, pulling out his spine. Dust. The last one stood up wearily and she growled at her. The vampire backed up hesitantly and Sophie rushed forward, tackling her. She bit her face off. Dust again. Sophie turned back to her naked human form and looked over at Linda. She was still struggling with her vampire but was about to dust it. Sophie turned to Pricilla. "Oh, fuck!" Priscilla was pushed against a wall, her eyes rolled backwards. She was being drained by the large Maxwell. Sophie rushed forward and grabbed him but he swung his arm and she flew clear across the room, hitting the wall. She stood up and shook her head. Priscilla was grabbing onto his shirt, desperately trying to pull him away.

"God, this one turns me on. I understand why that Valentine did what he did now." Maxwell said pulling away from the dying Slayer. "Fuck, she tastes amazing. I'd fuck her right here if you punks weren't around." He showed his bloody fangs at Sophie. She growled at him. _I'm nowhere near strong enough to face him now. He's got Slayer. _She turned to look at Linda. Linda had dusted her vampire.

"Sophie," she said seriously. "Go. I'll fight him."

"But—"

"I might not be able to beat him—but it'll give you time to take those two and go."

"No—I'll—"

"My orders were to protect the three of you with my life. That's what I'm doing." The big girl said. She was almost as big as Maxwell was. "So go. If I die—tell Violet that I'm sorry I failed her." She rushed forward and attacked Maxwell. Priscilla fell to the ground…still barely alive.

"Can you two walk?" Sophie asked them. They both nodded their heads. "Grab my clothes." Sophie ran forward and picked the bloody Priscilla off the ground. "Thank you, Linda."

"Go!"

* * *

"They're here!" Rona's voice rang loudly and the Slayers got into position. Satsu and Zack walked up to the cliff and looked at the battlefield. They could see Katana clearly in front of her large army of vampires and demons.

"Is that…Cooper?" Zack said, squinting his eyes. "God damn it!" Zack let out a frustrated sigh. "I really don't want to deal with him."

"Yeah—and if I'm not mistaken—that's Hugo. You remember him?"

"The son of a bitch that chained us up and kept calling us 'idiots'? Oh yeah—definitely remember that guy."

"Alright, ladies. On your mark," Rona pulled out her sword and waved it in the air. "Get set!" _Do people really say this? _"Go! Make us proud!" They jumped off the cliff and ran straight for Katana's army. Katana had on her usual Slayer gear with her sword behind her back. She drew it and got ready. The first Slayers that reached her were dead within seconds. She was fast. Too fast. Rona and Violet charged through the dense battlefield and made their way to their target, Katana. When they reached her, they each took to a side, forcing her to split her attention.

Satsu didn't know exactly what she was doing. She was stabbing and killing, making her way through the fight towards Katana. She half was rooting for Katana not to be slain. _What's wrong with me?_ Satsu found Hugo fighting a Slayer. She ran forward and tackled him. They both go to their feet.

"Sorry, but he's mine!" Satsu yelled at the Slayer. The girl nodded and continued fighting elsewhere.

"Ah, its you." Hugo said with a smirk. "I finally get the chance to kill you."

"I like how—you're with Julia now. Makes no sense considering you should hate her as much as me."

"I'm an opportunist."

"You're a tool." The two got into battle and Satsu found it was oddly thrilling to be fighting in such a big fight. The last time there was an all out war; she was sneaking in and assassinating the Boss. Now—now it was fun. She easily overpowered him and snapped his neck.

* * *

"Betrix!" Sophie yelled as she stepped harder on the gas. "I asked you how she was!"

"The same as when you asked me a minute ago. Focus on the driving! I'm trying to hold the blood." Sophie made an illegal turn and began speeding again.

"Fuck! The hospital is so fucking far away!" She made another turn. "Hang on there, Priscilla." Sophie's mind wandered to Linda. Was she okay? "Amy. Can you connect to someone instead of _**for**_ someone else?"

"Um—kind of. It's not the same."

"Can you check up on that girl Linda for me?" Sophie saw Amy nod through the rearview mirror and closed her eyes.

"She's…" Amy opened her eyes in terror. "There was—a lot of blood. She—I think she's dying. That big man was drinking from her."

"Fuck!" Sophie yelled again. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

"Sophie. Shut up!" Betrix yelled. "Stop your panicking and just drive. Calm the hell down or we're all gonna be dead." Sophie took in deep, shaking breaths.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. We just need to get her to a hospital as soon as we can. She's lost a lot of blood." Sophie drove as fast as she could and finally made it to the hospital ten minutes later. They rushed her into the hospital, but the first chance they got after the nurses took her, they escaped.

"We can't waste anymore time. I need to get you two to the safe house and go back—"

"She's gone, Sophie. You can't go back. The only thing you can do is go to the battlefield and make sure someone is warned about Maxwell. He's drunk from two Slayers. His powers are unpredictable. He was already strong to begin with." Sophie nodded weakly.

"You're right."

* * *

Zack was thrown backwards and landed on his ass. He stood back up wearily. _Guess my regular enhanced strength isn't enough. Gotta go wolf._ He felt hair rising through his pores as he began to turn into his most powerful state. Growling, he charged forward through the crowd and took out a vampire with ease. _Now, that's more like it._ He felt something bite him and then he was thrown. He landed on his back and rolled up. It was another werewolf. _Cooper._ Zack turned back into his human form and so did he.

"Ah, my boy." He said with a smirk on his hateful face. "Where's my lovely wife? Sophie?"

"Fuck off, Cooper." Zack said angrily.

"Is that anyway to talk to your father, boy?"

"You're not my father. My father's name is Thomas—"

"Ah, so the son finally becomes a man and marks his own territory. Did you really have to take my sloppy seconds though? I mean—I can smell her sweet pussy all over you."

"Fuck you. You say another word about her and I'll make sure your death is slow and painful you son of a bitch."

"Big words for a dog I'm about to put down." A vampire came at Zack. He kicked a stake from the floor up and dusted him. "Got to admit. She gave me some fucking good sex. Oh, I know, you're mad. How could I do that to my own daughter. Well—she has a fine ass. And that rack. How can you deny it? And that sassy attitude. I hope you let her keep it now that she's sucking your dick."

"Shut the fuck _**up**_!"

"Oh, you're angry. I like that. I mean look—if Anne had grown up and was as hot as Sophie I'd do her too. I'm not biased." Zack felt his temper rising and he closed his eyes. _He's a dead man._

"You sick, son of a bitch. Don't ever talk about Annie in front of me. _**Ever**_." The two turned back into their werewolf forms at the same time and charged at each other, two titans clashing. Cooper was strong, being able to wrestle his way on top of Zack and biting his neck. Zack got his legs on his stomach and kicked him off. He bit Cooper's arm. Cooper spazzed from the pain and threw him off. The two rushed at each other again, their teethes clamming down upon each other's flesh. Zack hadn't felt so much pain in his life as Cooper's fangs sank into his calf. Growling as loudly as he could, Zack found an opening and bit Cooper's neck. The man's blood filled his mouth and he spat it out. As Cooper gurgled on the ground, Zack bit again. And again. It was enough to let him die, slowly. Zack gave him a final slash to the face in anger and left him to bleed out to death. Zack continued fighting and by the time he checked up on the werewolf again, he was already reverted back to his human form and dead. _That's for talking about Sophie that way. And Annie. Don't tell me I didn't warn you._

_

* * *

_

Jane paced back and forth, her hands becoming sweaty. She let out a sigh from time to time. _God I hope they're okay. Where the hell is Sophie? _

"You should really sit down." Monique said with a frown. "I know you're worried but—"

"I'm sorry." Jane said sitting down on the uncomfortable bed. The other Slayer—Jennifer—was reading a book. She looked to be better trained than Monique, although her interpersonal skills were horrid. "Can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?" Monique replied, curiously.

"How's the Slayer Organization? I mean—do you think it's a good idea for Satsu to join you guys?" Monique nodded her head.

"Yeah," she said. "We do a lot of good. Buffy is an amazing leader. I mean—I've only met her like twice but—man. I mean she's super pretty." _Oh._ "And she's just—I don't know. She's like a genius at fighting, you know? Like—no one can beat her. It's intense."

"I see," Jane said. "I was thinking—of convincing Satsu about joining your organization. I mean—I want her to—never mind. I don't know why I'm talking to you about this." Monique gave her a smile and shrugged.

"Well—I mean it's not like you can talk to _**her**_." She pointed over to the other Slayer who, even then, did not respond to them. Jane laughed and shook her head.

"Thanks for being so nice." She said.

"Pleasure," she gave Jane a wink. _Really? No… _"I think someone's outside." She said standing up. She looked through the peephole. "Red head girl. Sophie right?" she asked looking at Jane. Jane stood up and looked through the hole.

"Yeah, that's her." Monique opened the door and in came Sophie, Betrix, and Amy. Both Sophie and Betrix were soaked in blood. "Whoa! What happened? Are you guys okay?" Jane said, helping Sophie onto a chair. Sophie nodded her head and let out a sigh.

"One Slayer died. One's in the hospital. We're in trouble." Sophie breathed.

"What the hell happened?" Monique asked. "Priscilla's dead?"

"No—Linda is." Monique looked shocked by that. "Did she fight off like ten vampires by herself or something?"

"No—she fought one. That was already strong to begin with. But he had drunk almost all of Priscilla's blood by the time Linda and I finished fighting the vampires. We came to Priscilla's rescue but—he was too strong. Linda held him back and I carried Priscilla and—" Sophie let out a sigh and covered her face. Jane frowned and walked up to Sophie and wrapped her arm around her.

"You didn't do anything wrong." Sophie began crying and fell into Jane's arms. After twenty seconds Sophie sat straight up, cleared her throat, and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry about that," she said.

"It's fine."

"I just—I had _**one**_ mission—and I failed."

"You didn't. You needed to bring Betrix back—now she's back. Okay? You did great, Sophie."

* * *

Satsu finally found Katana fighting Violet and Rona. They seemed obviously out matched. Violet came forward and swung her sword to which Katana quickly dodged and gave her a kick to the stomach. Rona dove in to stab her but Katana twisted out of the way and got back into stance. Violet stood up, rubbing her stomach.

"God damn, she's too fast and strong." Violet grunted.

"This is what happens when a Slayer becomes a vampire, huh? Definitely not good."

"Tell me about it." Violet and Rona rushed forward together. Both were punched and fell to the ground. Katana was about to go in for the kill on Rona when Satsu tackled her. They both landed on their feet and Satsu spun her two sword in the air.

"Satsu," Katana said. "Good. I was getting bored with those two." She looked over at the two of them get up. "Oh, no offense of course. You two are very good fighters—just not good enough. And Satsu here—she's got some talent. Became as strong as I was before I turned vampire in a very short amount of time. Oh—and very talented in the sack if any of you are interested." Rona and Violet walked slowly over to Satsu.

"I don't think we can beat her with just the three of us." Rona said. "But with all of us, I'm sure we can." Satsu looked around to find that the battle was over. Most of the Slayers had survived the battle and she even saw a smiling Zack sitting on the ground. His leg was hurt. There was a large circle surrounding the unemotional Katana. A few vampires were in there as well and they walked slowly towards her. Without warning, she killed them all, except one. A girl of about twenty-two was spared.

"What are you doing?" the girl asked her, shaking. Katana gave her a weak smile.

"Do you want die by their hands, or mine?" she said. "I'm giving _**you**_ a choice, Stephanie." Stephanie opened her mouth and then closed it.

"I don't want to—" Katana pulled her and kissed her. Satsu felt her heart racing in her chest. "Answer me, Stephanie."

"You," she said softly. And she was dust. Katana had staked her. She looked around at the overwhelming amount of Slayers that surrounded her. She closed her eyes as a breeze came through the field.

"I guess my plan isn't going to come to pass is it?" she said with a half-smile.

"Guess not, Jules." Satsu said stepping forward. Rona tried to hold her back but she shook free.

"I want you to kill me. Not them. Not strangers. I want the girl I loved to do it." She handed Satsu her katana and smiled kindly at her.

"I don't—"

"Please, Satsu. A favor for Julia. You know she'd want you to do it." Satsu took the sword from Katana's hand. "I know she'd want you to have the sword, too. It meant a lot to her—obviously." Satsu shook her head and held the sword with both hands. They were shaking.

"Can you kiss me again?" Katana said and Satsu made her way slowly towards her and kissed her for the last time. "Cinnamon?"

"Trying something new," Satsu replied with a weak smile.

"I like it. I also like the smell of Jane all over you—"

"Jules—"

"No," Katana said. "It's good for you." She said with a nod. "So, do it."

"I love you, Julia."

"She loved you, too." Then there was a pause. "I love you, babe." Tears formed in Satsu's eyes and she tried to hold them back.

"Julia?"

"_**Please**_, just kill me." There were tears in her eyes as well. "I want it to end. I want to rest in peace, Satsu. Please let me die in peace." Quivering Satsu slashed the blade down upon Julia's neck.

* * *

"We should go back," Sophie said. "I mean—we need to go back. It's what Satsu would do, right? We should kill him before he starts drinking from more Slayers and become even more powerful." Sophie was staring desperately around her.

"I'm just—" began Monique.

"What? A novice? Look—people make fun of you right? You're the scapegoat. Sometimes—they don't even talk to you. Like that chick over there. She can't stand the sight of you. You're at the bottom of the pack, yes?" Monique nodded her head with a frown on her young face. "You're the Omega. The joke everyone laughs at. But imagine where you'd stand after you take revenge on a vampire that killed a Slayer." Sophie said standing up. "You're what? Sixteen?"

"Fifteen," she answered. _Damn, she's so young._

"Okay—you're fifteen. If you build your reputation now—by the time you're that chick's age—" she pointed at the reading Slayer who had been unmoving the whole night. "Then you'll be on top of your pack." Monique nodded again.

"But—I don't want to die—"

"You're a Slayer. Its part of the job—"

"Sophie," Jane said warningly. Jane stood up and walked to Monique. "Stop it." But her lecture was cut short. The door to their safe house broke down and flew across the room hitting a wall. Maxwell stood with his hands in the air.

"Ah, there you are. Been looking all over the place. Two Slayers for me to taste. And this sexy fox is absolutely gorgeous!" Maxwell said with a smile on his face as he examined Jane. "Damn, she's hot."

"You can't come in here." Jane said taking a few steps back.

"Actually—" Maxwell said with smirk. He left for a second and came back with a battered old man. "I've already been invited in." It was the landowner. He smiled and walked into the room. "Like I said, one sexy fox." He gave Jane a wink. The girl reading the book charged forward, punching Maxwell in the face. He backhanded her and she flew onto the bed. Monique jumped forward but he grabbed her by the throat. "This one's too young for my taste, but—I can make due." Sophie turned and charged forward. He grabbed her by the face and threw her out of the room. He gave Monique a kick to the stomach and pushed her against the wall. Just when he was about to take a bite, Jennifer grabbed him and pulled him away. Monique fell to the ground and stayed there, staring in horror at the large vampire as he fought the better skilled Jennifer. But, Maxwell was stronger. He over powered the girl and bit in. Another Slayer to be drained. Jane looked outside the door. Sophie was hurt. She was back in her human form and bleeding.

"Monique!" Jane yelled. "You need to help her!" With Monique—unresponsive—Jane grabbed a pencil nearby and rushed forward. But Maxwell was grabbing her by the throat before she could move even a foot. He lifted her up and threw her onto the bed. He pinned her down and smirked at her.

"Boy—don't think I've had a human in some time. You got one hell of a figure, girl." Jennifer's blood was dripping onto Jane as she fought desperately under his grasp. Someone grabbed Maxwell into a chokehold and cranked him backwards, onto his feet. It was Sophie.

"Monique!" she yelled. Monique clambered to her feet, grabbed a stake from her jacket, and stabbed Maxwell in the heart. He was gone, instantly. Sophie fell onto her feet and put her hand on her stomach. She was bleeding. "Fuck, that was scary." She laughed. "Is that girl okay?" Jane jumped off the bed to check on Sophie as Monique went over to Jennifer.

"She's okay. He didn't drink much from her." She said. Sophie nodded as Jane examined her wound.

"You're okay, too. Just a flesh wound." Jane said with a happy smile at Sophie.

"What? You care if I'm hurt? You look worried."

"Of course I care!" Jane said throwing herself at her. Sophie softened up and patted Jane on the back.

"I get what Zack means when he says it's awkward because he's naked now." Sophie laughed.

"You're _**really **_hot, so it's okay." Jane teased.

"Thanks," Sophie rolled her eyes and Jane helped her onto the bed.

"We need to stop that bleeding."

* * *

_I often wondered what would have happened if I hadn't gotten out of the house that night. If I had simply looked down upon the cloaked figure and stayed in bed with Julia. Would things have been different? Would she still be alive and in my arms in bed? Or would Valentine had find some other twisted way to bring his plan to past? I don't know. I never will know. All I knew was that it was finally over. Reunited with Jane and the rest of them, we embraced in joy and in sorrow. For the losses, the sacrifices, the untold loves that we held deep within our hearts. Rona told me that they were going to leave at four in the morning and that I had time until then to make my decision. It was three. They girls were already beginning to get ready to leave. Andrew said there were helicopters that they parked nearby. _

Satsu sat in the living room with Jane, Zack, Sophie, Betrix, and Amy, like they used to. She remembered the hours spent talking, laughing, crying, planning, plotting, and just about everything possible. She felt almost as if Julia were next to her, smiling among them as a calm fell upon their troubled hearts.

"So it's over." Zack said with a content smile. "And we didn't lose anyone from our group." _Except Julia_.

"Yeah—we got really lucky." Jane said, holding Satsu's hand. "How are you feeling?" Satsu looked up from the cup she had been staring at on the coffee table. She had a feeling, a thought, an idea, in her mind and she knew everyone else had the same thing too.

"I'm okay," she replied. There was a silence before Jane spoke again.

"You should join the Slayer Organization." Everyone seemed to look away.

"Jane," Satsu said. "We're finally together. I—I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me." She said touching Satsu's face. "I love you more than anything. But your destiny is greater than me. Than this place. Than our little missions. You're destiny is something greater than all of it—and I would be holding you back selfishly if I told you that I didn't want you to leave because I want you all for myself." _She's more selfless than Julia was. _"You're my hero, Satsu. Now go be one for everyone else." Satsu looked around at the others. Everyone was smiling warmly at her, as if agreeing with what Jane had just said.

"You guys really—think I should go?"

"It's not what we thinks that matters, Satsu." Zack said. "Its what _**you**_ think is best. Because hell—if you choose to stay here, we'd be more than happy. But is it what would make _**you**_ happy?"

"Staying with you? All of you?" she turned to look at Jane. "Of course it'd make me happy."

"Would it fulfill you?" Jane said. "Would it satisfy your need to be something more? To be a part of something greater? To help people in bigger, better way? Look—please just make a decision. Don't make this harder than it already is for me. I've been waiting for forever for you to finally look at me the way you do—I'm being extremely selfless right now—so please…" Satsu was silent. She didn't know know how to answer that question. _I want to stay...**and** go._

"Are you going to join us?" Rona asked, walking past them. "We're heading out right now." Satsu looked from Jane to Zack to Betrix. She nodded.

"Yeah, I guess the decision has been made already. Can I have a minute though?"

"So you _**are**_ joining us?" Rona asked and Satsu nodded.

"Then you can have all the time in the world. You don't need to pack much. We provide everything there for you." Satsu grabbed her clothes and Zack drove all of them to the meeting point, where the helicopters sat waiting for Satsu's departure.

"So I guess this is it huh?" she said to the five of them. They nodded and all smiled at her; kind, loving, caring, understanding. "I'm going to miss all of you—so much." She said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Back at you." Betrix said with a smile.

"Come here." Satsu said hugging her. "Thank you for everything you've done for us, Betty." It was the first time she had called her by that name. "You've been such an amazing friend, even when you didn't have to be."

"Don't mention it kid. Take care, okay? We'll stay in touch."

"Definitely," Satsu let got of her and looked down at little Amy who gave her a smile. "Good-bye, Amy." She said picking the girl up and holding her like a child.

"Are you going to be gone long?" Amy asked her. Satsu felt tears roll down her cheeks as she nodded.

"Yes, baby. But I'll write to you, okay? Whenever I can." Amy nodded and clung onto her neck.

"Bye, Aunt Satsu." She said, and she kissed Satsu's wet cheeks.

"Bye." She let her down and looked over at Zack and Sophie. Zack gave her a tight hug and kissed her forehead.

"You take care of yourself, little sis." He said. "I'm going to be expecting phone calls, letters, e-mails, everything. You got it?"

"You got it." she said with a smile. Sophie also gave her a hug.

"Bye, Satsu. I was nice to know you." She said.

"You, too, Sophie. Take care of my little brother okay?"

"Oh, little huh?" Zack chuckled.

"Take care of him. Don't break his heart."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll just break his bones if he does anything stupid." Smiled Sophie. Satsu laughed and looked back at Zack.

"She's a keeper."

"I know." Zack said putting his arm around Sophie's shoulder. Satsu finally turned to Jane who had been standing alone, staring at the ground.

"I love you, babe." Satsu said. Jane was crying by the time she was holding Satsu in her arms.

"I know you do," she said in tears. "But you'll never know how much I love _**you**_." They kissed, for the last time. Jane could taste Satsu's cinnamon lip gloss as they parted ways. "I hope you find someone that will fit into your future. The way I _**can't**_."

"As much as I'd be jealous of her, I wish you find someone like that too, Jane."

"Bye, Satsu."

"Good-bye, babe." Satsu turned to leave and was helped onto the helicopter. She turned back to look at her friends, her family, her entire life one last time. "Like I said. I'll write to you. And I'll call. I love you guys."

"Go, Satsu!" Jane said crying into Zack's arm. And that was it. The helicopter flew upwards and into the sky, towards Satsu's future, leaving behind her past, forever unknown to the rest of the world.


	27. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Satsu's eyes were wide as they landed on an empty field in front of a magnificent palace. The palace stood several stories tall and wider than her eyes could see. It was made of stone and it looked ancient, yet beautiful. There were vines growing on the sides of the place and as Satsu stepped out of the helicopter, she felt how insignificant she really was compared to their mission.

"This is headquarters, huh?" she muttered to Andrew.

"Scotland's, yeah. Buffy lives here." Andrew continued walking and Sastu followed him.

"So, Buffy. How is she? I mean—what's she like? I've heard all the Slayers talk about her but—I mean—does she really live up to it all? What's she look like? Is she pretty?"

"You might want to calm down there, tiger." Came Rona's voice. "You'll meet her soon. Just relax." There were two girls sitting in the front of the mansion, training. Andrew waved to them.

"This is Rowena and Leah." Rowena was a decent sized girl with blonde hair and had on a cap, backwards. Leah was a pretty redhead with bushy hair. She reminded Satsu of Sophie. "Girls, this is a new recruit. Satsu." She shook hands with them as they beamed at her.

"Buffy's inside." Leah said. "Come on." She lead them into the mansion and up a few fight of stairs before they reached a large room the size of Zack's house. There was a tall man with long black hair and an eye-patch over his left eye. There was also a dark girl standing next to him and a short, extremely pretty blonde woman facing them. _Oh, my God. That's her. That's the girl of my dreams._ Satsu let out a laugh and shook her head. _Can't believe it's so literal._ She was awestruck by the woman's beauty as she smiled at Andrew and Rona. She looked over at Satsu.

"Who's this?" she said to Andrew.

"Ah, this is Satsu." Andrew said.

"Oh, the new recruit?"

"Yeah," he said. "Satsu, this is Buffy the Vampyre Slayer."

"Vampire," Buffy said with a wink. "Andrew's an idiot."

"I don't think you need to tell her that for her to find out." The eye-patched man said walking forward.

"Xander Harris. Nice to meet you." He extended his hand and Satsu took it. "This is Renee." The dark girl shook Satsu's hand. Buffy came forward and extended her hand as well.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Summers." Satsu said taking the woman's hand.

"It's Buffy. Ms. Summer was my mother and she's dead."

"Buffy," Satsu said, feeling butterflies in the pit of stomach.

"Did you forget about the e-mail I sent you?" Andrew said. "About Satsu?"

"No—I remember. Kind of." Buffy said, looking extremely guilty. "Well I might have—skimmed it."

"And by skimmed she meant clicked on delete, folks." Xander said shaking his head. "I read it though—being the responsible person that I am."

"What would we ever do without you, Xander?" Buffy said sarcastically.

"Rot and die." He replied. "Anyways, I've read it. And Andrew praised you quite a lot."

"But then again, you dress very well so I'm sure that's part of the reason Andrew likes you so much." Buffy teased. "I'm just kidding, Satsu." Satsu let out a nervous laugh. "You look really scared." Buffy said laughing.

"I'm just—kind of nervous." Satsu said. She cleared her throat.

"Don't listen to what anyone else says," Buffy put her arm around Satsu's shoulders. "I don't bit. Except maybe that one time—" Satsu laughed and Buffy winked at her. "See, be normal. Let me give you the grand tour. You'll love it here."

"She's going to fit in fine." Andrew said to Xander with a nod as Buffy and Satsu walked out of the room.

* * *

Sophie opened the door slowly and poked her head into the room. Priscilla was sitting with her back against the wall, watching the TV. Upon seeing Sophie, she flicked it off. Sophie walked into the room and revealed a large bundle of flowers. Priscilla grinned as Sophie handed them to her.

"Thank you," Priscilla said smelling them. "They're beautiful. And you didn't have to come see me."

"You shitting me?" Sophie said sitting on the chair next to the bed. "I'm going to check up on you everyday and then some. You're gonna get sick of seeing me."

"I don't think that can happen." Priscilla said adjusting in her bed.

"Are you hitting on me?"

"What?"

"Nothing, never mind. I was around lesbians for so long I forgot there were straight girls in this world." The two laughed.

"I don't think I've thanked you enough for saving my life, Sophie." Priscilla said, reaching her hand out and holding Sophie's. "I mean—you could've left me there—but you saved me."

"It was nothing."

"It was a _**really**_ big deal. I'm alive because of it." Priscilla said and Sophie smiled. "You're a good person, Sophie."

"No, no I'm not. I've done too many bad things to—"

"I don't care what you've done in the past. You saved my life. In my book—you're a hero." Sophie couldn't help but grin at that. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." Sophie nodded her head.

"Thank you, Priscilla."

"Thank _**you**_." Priscilla replied. "So talk to me. Tell me about yourself."

"Not much to tell, Prissy."

"Bull shit." The girl said. "Tell me why you don't think you're a good person."

"You really want to hear it?"

"Yeah," Priscilla said. "I've got all the time in the world. And plus—it's getting late. I'm ready for a bedtime story."

"Its really not bedtime story material."

"Whatever." She said. "Are you going to spend the night?"

"What? I—didn't plan on it."

"Stay. You can unload all that crap that's been building up. I can tell you want to talk about it." Sophie laughed and nodded her head. "I'll have to call my boyfriend—"

"Go for it." Sophie made the call and told Zack that she was staying over at the wounded Slayer's house. Zack told her it was fine and she hung up. "So, about why you think you're a bad person."

"I've killed. A lot of people. On purpose. My 'step-parents', who were more like older friends, took me out on full moons back when I couldn't transform at will. They'd take me out into the middle of the crowdest cities and have me tear people to pieces."

"That's horrible. How old were you?"

"Old enough—to know that it was wrong. But I craved it. I kept doing it. When I got older I continued it. Zack was my—little brother of sorts."

"Your boyfriend?"

"Yeah—"

"Oh, wow."

"Yeah—"

"Of sorts?"

"We're not related. And I was out of the house by the time he started really understanding anything, you know? We're kind of more like childhood friends. I don't know. I just—"

"I don't judge, Sophie." Sophie nodded, feeling her face burn.

"Anyways—Zack was captured and then given a home with a decent family. I didn't know what happened to him. All I knew was that he was gone and my other little sister Anne was dead. So I continued to do what I wanted. I felt as if it was the only way to go through life and be happy. If you're _**not**_ fulfilling your wants—how are you going to be happy? You know?" Priscilla nodded her head. "But then he came back. An independent, strong, caring, loving, charismatic man and I fell for him. That was a long list, sorry." Sophie laughed. "I really love him. If you can't tell."

"Nope, totally can't." Priscilla tease.

"Anything...I found myself wanting to be something more. Wanting to do better. Be better. And so I asked him for help. And he's been trying to get me on the road to redemption since." Priscilla sat looking into Sophie's eyes for a long time. She finally smiled and held her hand tighter.

"Sounds to me—like you've found your way."

"Yeah, I guess I have."

"Can I say something, Sophie?"

"Yeah, of course."

"I think—the best way to find redemption in good acts is when you do them _**not **_for the purpose of clearing your conscience or building up points so that you can feel like you've made up for your sins. I think a good person is one who do a good act—like save someone's life—for the purpose of saving their life. With no further ulterior motive. When you saved my life, Sophie, did you think about making up for your mistakes—or were you just doing it because you wanted to help me?"

"Because I wanted to help you."

"Then there you have it. You're a good person. And in my book—you're a good person." Sophie smiled and gave Priscilla a hard hug.

"Thank you,"

* * *

Zack placed a single flower on the ground and stood looking down at it. The wind was rustling his long black hair as he smiled to himself. Anne's grave was in front of him. He bent down, took a handful of dirt, and slowly let it fall back onto the ground.

"I'm sorry I haven't come visit you, Annie." He said looking at her tombstone. "I've meant to but—I guess I couldn't face you. I thought that I lead you to your death. That I was responsible for what happened to you." Zack lowered himself to the ground and placed his hand on the dirt. "I am so sorry for not being able to save you, Annie. And for that, I _**am**_ responsible. But I know now that the person that was truly responsible for your death wasn't me. It wasn't you. Martha. Sophie. Even Cooper. It's fate. There are just some things that are out of our control. And we can't look back and wonder—what if?—because in the end…it is how it is." Zack felt tears roll down his eyes and he sat down. "I've never told you about Julia, have I? I remember you telling me that night before we turned, that a boy you liked told you, he liked you, right?" Zack combed his hair. "Well, you're one lucky girl, Annie." Zack laughed. "It's not easy finding someone that cares about you back. Not for me, anyways." He paused and took in a breath of cold air as he reminisced about a girl he once knew. A girl he once loved. "So there was this girl that I was really good friends with—her name was Julia. Kind, funny, compassionate, and yeah—a bit spoiled—but all in all she was an amazing girl, Annie. You'd love her." Zack could picture Julia and Anne's face in front of him, smiling warmly. "So there she was and of course being the idiot that I am, I fell for her. But she never cared about me in the same way back—and I thought, 'Man I am such a loser. This is the worst thing in the world.' But—you know how I said something things are just out of our control? That was one of them. Julia and Satsu fell in love and they had a great relationship and I was _**so**_ happy for them. But then I thought about me. Why couldn't I have something like that? I know—I sound like a loser. But what I'm trying to get here, Annie, is that things happen for a reason sometimes. You know? You died but I know that you're somewhere better—laughing at me right now for talking to dirt and rock." Zack chuckled to himself. "But like I was saying—Julia not having feelings back for me was one of the best things that could've happened because now—I'm happier than ever before. I'm with the girl of my dreams. And yeah—I know how much you hated Sophie, Annie. But she's changed. She's an _**amazing **_person. I love her. And I know if you were here now you would, too." Zack wiped his face. He could see tear stains on the ground. "I miss you, _**so**_ much. I love. I hope one day I can forgive myself for not being able to save you. At least for now I'm able to realize I didn't kill you." Zack stood up and walked over to the tombstone and kissed it. "I'll come visit you soon." He turned around and found Sophie standing a few meters away.

"Lovely story," she said walking up to him. "I especially like the part where you talked about Julia."

"Aww, c'mon, babe." He said, holding her hips. "She was a really important part of my life."

"I _**also**_ liked the part where you told Anne she'd like me now." Sophie said. "I can't even imagine that. She hated me _**so**_ much."

"Well, there was a lot to hate about you, honey." He said grinning at her.

"Oh, thanks."

"And now I can't image loving anyone more." He kissed her.

"You are such a fucking cheese ball."

"I thought you like cheese."

"Shut up and just kiss me again." They kissed and then both turned to look back at Annie's tombstone. "I'll come visit you next time, too, Anne."

* * *

_**One Year Later: **_

"I got in?" Jane said with a huge smile on her face. "Are you kidding? You're kidding. You're lying to me, right? I did _**not**_ get in!" shepulled the letter from a girl's hands and read it. "I got in!" She yelled and she threw herself at the girl in front of her. She kissed her, squeezing her tight. "Goddamn, I totally thought I would've gotten rejected."

"This kiss or the school?"

"The school, idiot." Jane said, beaming. The girl laughed and then shook Jane.

"This is so exciting! So what should we do to celebrate?"

"Oh—celebrating, Sammy, not my thing." Samantha frowned and took the paper from Jane and held it up to her face.

"You got into one of the best universities around here. You've been out of school for a whole year. We're celebrating!"

"Alright, alright." Jane said. "You know—the bed sounds like a really good place to do some celebrating on."

"No, no bed." Samantha said. "We're going out. Or something. Anything but that."

"Well," Jane said scratching her head. She had short hair now, which she had dyed black. "There's this thing—I wasn't going to go. But—I don't know."

"What is it?"

"This girl, Amy, she's my friend, Betty's daughter. It's her birthday and—well I haven't really been in contact with them lately. You know—trying to stack up on classes to get into school and everything. I got an invitation the other day."

"Then we're going." Samantha said. "Get changed." The two of them got changed and was in the car in less than an hour. They drove to Betty's house, which had been remodeled and was now much bigger than before. Jane hadn't seen Betty in almost six months, and so when Betty saw her pull up on the driveway, she almost toppled her. Betty hugged her tight and when she finally let go, Jane was sure she had suffocated.

"It's so good to see you, Jane!" Betty said. "It's been ages! How've you been?" Betty looked over at Samantha and Jane blushed a little. "Who's this?"

"This is Sammy. She's um—my girlfriend." Jane said. "Sam, this is Betty."

"Girlfriend, huh?" Betty said with a wide smile. "Would you look at that?" Betty held out her hand and Samantha shook it. "It's very nice to meet you, Sammy."

"You, too." She said with a bright smile.

"Zack and Sophie are inside playing with Amy." Betty said as the three of them walked back to the house. "I have a few co-workers here and that's about it. I sent Satsu a letter." Betty said opening the door. Jane and Betty's eyes caught each other's for a moment. "She sent me a letter back saying she's on some mission and she couldn't make it. Some guy by the identity of Twilight's been giving them hell."

"Mission?" Samantha said curiously. "Who's this Satsu?"

"Ex-girlfriend. I'll tell you in a bit." Jane said as they got into the living room. Zack, now with flowing long hair and a five o'clock shadow, was sitting on the ground with Sophie and a very normal looking Amy. She looked _**human**_. "Sam, you think you can go get me a cup of water?" Samantha looked at Betty and then back to Jane.

"Okay, I get the hint." She left the two of them. Jane and Betty were looking down at Zack, Sophie, and Amy, who hadn't noticed them yet.

"What'd you do to Amy?" Jane asked, shocked at Amy's human appearance.

"I—might have dabbled in some magic. Cast a spell to make her have a human appearance." Betty said guiltily. "I want her to have a normal life, Jane."

"No, no. I think it's great. She deserves it." Sophie started sniffing the air and she looked over at Jane. The shocked expression on her face was priceless.

"Oh, my God! Is that Jane?" She yelled as she stood up. Zack looked up as well and nearly popped up.

"Jane!" He ran forward, picked her up, and spun around. "Wow! I haven't seen you in forever!" He kissed her hard on the cheek. "You look _**amazing**_!" he said.

"Thanks, Zack. You look great, too." Sophie came forward and also gave Jane a hug. Even the wolf Snow came up and licked Jane. She laughed and patted him.

"Where the hell have you been?" Sophie demanded. "Zack's been crying every night because he hasn't seen you in so long."

"I have not—" Zack said with a glare. "It was only once." Zack said jokingly to Jane. They all laughed and then Jane shrugged.

"I'm sorry, guys. I've just been _**so**_ busy with school and—"

"So you're back to being a geek?" Zack asked.

"Well—"

"I'm just teasing, Jane." He said with a grin. Samantha came back and handed Jane the cup of water and looked around.

"Oh, right." Jane said after a long pause. "This is Sammy. That's Sophie and Zack." Samantha shook each other their hands.

"So, Sammy," Zack said with a knowing smile. "How do you know our Jane here?"

"Oh—I go to school with her."

"_**Oh**_, school."

"She's my girlfriend, Zack, okay? Back off." Jane said pushing him.

"I totally couldn't tell." He teased. Amy squeezed in between Zack and Sophie and looked up at Jane. She was a very pretty girl as a human.

"Amy!" Jane said picking her. "Oh, wow. You're so heavy now!" She kissed her on the cheeks. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you," she said. "You never come visit me, Aunt Jane."

"I am so sorry." She said. "You know, how about I make you a promise?"

"Promise what?"

"I'll come by and visit you all the time from now on, okay?"

"Okay!" Amy said with a wide smile.

"Alright. I gave your mommy your present. She'll give it to you later, okay?" Amy nodded and she let her down. "Go play with your friends for a bit. I'll come right over and play with you." Amy nodded and walked over to her group of friends.

"Oh, Jane, you don't have to give her anything."

"I know," Jane said reaching into her coat. "I want to." She handed Betty and envelope. "Take her out. Buy her something nice for me. I didn't have time to get anything. I'm sorry."

"This is a lot of money, Jane."

"Yeah, yeah I know. I've been saving up."

"Thank you," Betty said and she put the envelope in her pocket.

"So, how've you been, Jane?" Zack asked.

"Good. I got into the college I wanted."

"That's great!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, it is. I couldn't have done it without Sam here though." Jane said with a loving smile at her girlfriend. Samantha gave her a wink.

"Yeah, I'm a great influence." She said. "Especially when I make her take me out because I'm bored."

"Oh, I'm like that all the time, too." Sophie said. "But he never gives in."

"I take you out all the time, babe."

"Yeah, right." Sophie said rolling her eyes. Zack smiled and put his arm around her.

"She's a hard one to please." They all walked over the large couch and sat down. It was just like old times.

"So, have you heard anything from Satsu lately?" Zack asked her. Jane shrugged with a frown.

"Um—she sent me an e-mail a few months back. She just got back from Tokyo or something."

"Tokyo?"

"Yeah she was—trying to get over someone—I don't know."

"Buffy?"

"Yeah, you got the e-mail, too?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Yeah," she said nodding her head.

"You know—everything seems to be going really good for us." Zack said.

"Yeah," Jane replied.

"Just that little something that's missing right?" They all smiled at each other, knowingly. Everyone besides Samantha.

"If you're wondering if I'm ever going to tell her," Jane said with a smirk at Zack. "The answer is yes. That's why I brought her here to begin with. Didn't know Amy wasn't gonna be blue anymore."

"What are you talking about?" Samantha asked.

"Oh, we have a lot of catching up for you to do, then." Zack said.

"This is going to be fun." Sophie said rolling her eyes and holding onto Zack's arm. Betty laughed and crossed her legs on the coffee table. Reunited with her friends, Jane told the story of their trials, their triumphs, their victories, their failures, their gains, and their loses. As they sat there that day, Jane told Samantha of the tale of Satsu, the Vampire Slayer.


End file.
